CVE-2026-42402: Neethi Denial of Service Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-g36m-9g3m-2vmp
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-42402 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Neethi libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves apache neethi is vulnerable to a denial of service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.2.2.

CVE-2026-42402 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-42402
GHSA Identifier GHSA-g36m-9g3m-2vmp
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Neethi
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-42402

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Neethi dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.apache.neethi:neethi fixed: 3.2.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.neethi</groupId>
    <artifactId>neethi</artifactId>
    <version>3.2.2</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.neethi

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-42402, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.neethi

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Neethi in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.2.2), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.neethi command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Neethi, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization. Specially crafted WS-Policy documents can trigger an exponential Cartesian cross-product expansion during the normalization process, causing unbounded memory allocation that exhausts the JVM heap. This occurs when the normalization process generates an excessive number of policy alternatives without bounds, leading to runtime memory exhaustion. Users should upgrade to 3.2.2 which limits the maximum number of normalized policy alternatives.

CVE-2026-42402 Affected Neethi Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.2.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.neethi:neethi
maven/org.apache.neethi/neethi
Maven
< 3.2.2
3.2.2

References

NVD — CVE-2026-42402 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42402
Neethi Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/ws-neethi
lists.apache.org/thread/p826j0phhmr9... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/p826j0phhmr9f83wzpmys1y0bdfrr2q4
Neethi Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42402?
CVE-2026-42402 is a security vulnerability in Neethi involving Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Neethi versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.2.2 across affected packages: org.apache.neethi:neethi.
What version fixes CVE-2026-42402?
Upgrading to 3.2.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is neethi affected?
Yes, org.apache.neethi:neethi is affected in releases prior to 3.2.2. Upgrade your dependency to 3.2.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-42402?
CVE-2026-42402 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-42402?
CVE-2026-42402 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-42402?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.neethi'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-g36m-9g3m-2vmp",
  "modified" : "2026-05-07T02:52:05Z",
  "published" : "2026-05-01T09:30:25Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-42402" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization",
  "details" : "Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization. Specially crafted WS-Policy documents can trigger an exponential Cartesian cross-product expansion during the normalization process, causing unbounded memory allocation that exhausts the JVM heap. This occurs when the normalization process generates an excessive number of policy alternatives without bounds, leading to runtime memory exhaustion.\n\nUsers should upgrade to 3.2.2 which limits the maximum number of normalized policy alternatives.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.neethi:neethi"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42402"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/ws-neethi"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/p826j0phhmr9f83wzpmys1y0bdfrr2q4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/6"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-05-07T02:52:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-05-01T09:16:16Z"
  }
}