Payara Server: Cross-Site Request Forgery
CVE-2026-12986 is a high-severity cross-site request forgery vulnerability in Payara Server from Payara, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.3 out of 10. It can be exploited from the same local network by an unauthenticated attacker, but only if a user takes part, for example by opening a link or file. The record lists versions 7.2026.6, 7.1.0, 6.39.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating Payara Server to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.27% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Payara Server to 7.2026.6 or 7.1.0 or 6.39.0 or 5.88.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Because the attack needs a user to take part, warn users about unexpected links and files related to this product until it is patched.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payara | Payara Server | 7.2025.1 up to, but not including, 7.2026.6; 7.0.0 up to, but not including, 7.1.0; 6.0.0 up to, but not including, 6.39.0; 5.20.0 up to, but not including, 5.88.0; 4.1.144 up to, but not including, 4.1.2.191.56; 5.181 through 5.201.2; 5.2020.1 through 5.2022.5; 6.2023.1 through 6.2025.11 | 7.2026.6, 7.1.0, 6.39.0, 5.88.0, 4.1.2.191.56 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- AdjacentThe attacker must be on the same local network segment.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- PresentThe target must be in a specific state or configuration for the attack to work.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- ActiveA user must deliberately do something unusual, such as dismissing a warning.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:P/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Amber. Scored by CNA.
Official description
A critical vulnerability in Admin GUI in Payara Server Full 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 7.2026.x, 6.2025.x, 6.2024.x on All platforms that allows the attacker to leak the admin gfresttoken to an attacker-controlled host that can result in a full unauthenticated takeover of Payara admin domain. A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the DownloadServlet of the Admin GUI in Payara Server allows a remote attacker to exfiltrate the administrator's REST session token (gfresttoken) to an attacker-controlled host via a crafted request URL. Combined with the absence of CSRF protection on DownloadServlet, an unauthenticated attacker can trick a logged-in administrator into triggering the token leak, then replay the stolen token to gain full administrative access to the Payara domain, leading to arbitrary code execution via WAR deployment. The vulnerability exists in the DownloadServlet and associated ContentSource implementations (LogViewerContentSource, LogFilesContentSource, LBConfigContentSource, ClientStubsContentSource) within the admingui:console-common module.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Cross-Site Request Forgery
The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, use anti-CSRF packages such as the OWASP CSRFGuard. Another example is the ESAPI Session Management control, which includes a component for CSRF.
- Ensure that the application is free of cross-site scripting issues (CWE-79), because most CSRF defenses can be bypassed using attacker-controlled script.
- Generate a unique nonce for each form, place the nonce into the form, and verify the nonce upon receipt of the form. Be sure that the nonce is not predictable (CWE-330).
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in Payara Server
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Cross-Site Request Forgery vulnerabilities
- 8.8 High severity
- 9.3 Critical severity
- 8.6 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 9.6 Critical severity
- 8.8 High severity
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