Apache Camel JMS: Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity
CVE-2026-40453 is a critical-severity improper handling of case sensitivity vulnerability in Apache Camel JMS from Apache, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 4.14.6, 4.18.2, 4.20.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating Apache Camel JMS to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 2.1% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 82% of scored CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Update Apache Camel JMS to 4.14.6 or 4.18.2 or 4.20.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Apache Camel CoAP to 4.14.6 or 4.18.2 or 4.20.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Apache Camel Google PubSub to 4.14.6 or 4.18.2 or 4.20.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Read the advisory on camel.apache.org for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache Camel JMS | 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 4.14.6; 4.15.0 up to, but not including, 4.18.2; 4.19.0 up to, but not including, 4.20.0 | 4.14.6, 4.18.2, 4.20.0 |
| Apache | Apache Camel CoAP | 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 4.14.6; 4.15.0 up to, but not including, 4.18.2; 4.19.0 up to, but not including, 4.20.0 | 4.14.6, 4.18.2, 4.20.0 |
| Apache | Apache Camel Google PubSub | 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 4.14.6; 4.15.0 up to, but not including, 4.18.2; 4.19.0 up to, but not including, 4.20.0 | 4.14.6, 4.18.2, 4.20.0 |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Build of Apache Camel 4.14 for Quarkus 3.27 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.18.1 for Spring Boot 3.5.14 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | OpenShift Serverless | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Fuse 7 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Process Automation 7 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Single Sign-On 7 | Not specified in the record | Not stated |
| Apache | Camel | 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 4.14.6; 4.15.0 up to, but not including, 4.18.2; 4.19.0 | 4.14.6, 4.18.2 |
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
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.9 | Critical | CISA (ADP) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.9 | Critical | CNA |
Official description
The fix for CVE-2025-27636 added setLowerCase(true) to HttpHeaderFilterStrategy so that case-variant header names such as 'CAmelExecCommandExecutable' are filtered out alongside 'CamelExecCommandExecutable'. The same setLowerCase(true) call was not applied to five non-HTTP HeaderFilterStrategy implementations: JmsHeaderFilterStrategy and ClassicJmsHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-jms, SjmsHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-sjms, CoAPHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-coap, and GooglePubsubHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-google-pubsub. Because those strategies use case-sensitive String.startsWith('Camel'/'camel') filtering while the Camel Exchange stores headers in a case-insensitive map, an attacker with JMS (or equivalent) producer access to the broker consumed by a Camel route can inject case-variant Camel internal headers, which are then resolved by downstream components such as camel-exec and camel-file using their canonical casing. This enables remote code execution and arbitrary file write on routes that forward JMS messages to header-driven components. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 3.0.0 before 4.14.6, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.2, from 4.19.0 before 4.20.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.20.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.6. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.2.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity
The product does not properly account for differences in case sensitivity when accessing or determining the properties of a resource, leading to inconsistent results.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Avoid making decisions based on names of resources (e.g. files) if those resources can have alternate names.
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
More Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity vulnerabilities (CWE-178)
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 references
Recent Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity vulnerabilities
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
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