Description
Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions. When a WS-Policy document contains circular policy references (where Policy A references Policy B which references Policy A), the policy normalization process can enter an infinite loop or cause excessive recursion, leading to a stack overflow or application hang. An attacker can craft malicious policy documents with circular references to cause a Denial of Service condition

Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue.
Published: 2026-05-01
Score: 7.5 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-2hfh-9h53-qc24 Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions.
History

Thu, 14 May 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-606
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Moderate


Fri, 01 May 2026 18:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apache
Apache neethi
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:neethi:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache neethi

Fri, 01 May 2026 17:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Fri, 01 May 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Fri, 01 May 2026 09:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions. When a WS-Policy document contains circular policy references (where Policy A references Policy B which references Policy A), the policy normalization process can enter an infinite loop or cause excessive recursion, leading to a stack overflow or application hang. An attacker can craft malicious policy documents with circular references to cause a Denial of Service condition Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue.
Title Apache Neethi: Circular Policy Reference Infinite Loop
Weaknesses CWE-400
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-01T16:21:07.061Z

Reserved: 2026-04-27T10:33:09.134Z

Link: CVE-2026-42403

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-05-01T16:21:07.061Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-05-01T09:16:17.137

Modified: 2026-05-01T18:08:21.653

Link: CVE-2026-42403

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-05-01T08:38:16Z

Links: CVE-2026-42403 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-05-14T14:00:20Z

Weaknesses