False header protection via plaintext child promotion
Published Sep 30, 2026 · Updated Sep 30, 2026
Header confusion in Apache WSS4J before 2.4.4, 3.0.0 through 3.0.5, and 4.0.0 through 4.0.1 lets attackers substitute a plaintext SOAP header. In DOM EncryptionUtils, wrapper replacement selects the first EncryptedHeader child instead of the node actually decrypted, treating a preceding attacker-supplied element as protected. Exploitation requires an application to process a crafted encrypted SOAP message through this DOM path; a policy check can then trust header content that encryption did not cover.
Summary
What happened
Header confusion in Apache WSS4J before 2.4.4, 3.0.0 through 3.0.5, and 4.0.0 through 4.0.1 lets attackers substitute a plaintext SOAP header. In DOM EncryptionUtils, wrapper replacement selects the first EncryptedHeader child instead of the node actually decrypted, treating a preceding attacker-supplied element as protected. Exploitation requires an application to process a crafted encrypted SOAP message through this DOM path; a policy check can then trust header content that encryption did not cover.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89238
- Published
- Sep 30, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 30, 2026
- Vendor
- Apache Software Foundation
- Product
- Apache WSS4J
- Classifications
- T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 30, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <2.4.4
- Affected versionversion=3.0.0 <3.0.6
- Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.2
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- EncryptedHeader plaintext-first-child regression testproof of concept · unverified
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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