CVE Intelligence
High Info disclosure

CVE-2021-40690 — Bypass of the secureValidation property

All versions of Apache Santuario - XML Security for Java prior to 2.2.3 and 2.1.7 are vulnerable to an issue where the "secureValidation" property is not passed correctly when creating a KeyInfo from a KeyInfoReference element. This allows an attacker to abuse an XPath Transform to extract any local .xml files in a RetrievalMethod element.

Published Sep 19, 2021 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: apache

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 7.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (high)+6
  • Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
7.44%
ahead of 94% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Apache Software Foundation
Apache Santuario and 18 more
CVSS base
7.5
High · 1 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
Yes
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — lists.apache.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — www.oracle.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — www.oracle.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Apache Software Foundation Apache Santuario, Apache Software Foundation Cxf, Apache Software Foundation Santuario Xml Security For Java…).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  4. EPSS ahead of 94% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (info disclosure), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Apache Software Foundation Apache Santuario ≥ XML Security for Java and < 2.2.3,2.1.7 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Apache Software Foundation Cxf version 3.4.4 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Apache Software Foundation Santuario Xml Security For Java ≥ 2.2.0 and < 2.2.3< 2.1.7 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Apache Software Foundation Tomee < 8.0.8 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Debian Debian Linux version 10.0version 9.0version 11.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Agile Product Lifecycle Management version 9.3.6 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Commerce Guided Search version 11.3.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Commerce Platform version 11.3.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Communications Diameter Intelligence Hub ≥ 8.2.0 and ≤ 8.2.3≥ 8.0.0 and ≤ 8.1.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Communications Messaging Server version 8.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Flexcube Private Banking version 12.1.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Outside In Technology version 8.5.5 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Peoplesoft Enterprise Peopletools version 8.58version 8.59 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Retail Bulk Data Integration version 16.0.3 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Retail Financial Integration version 19.0.1version 16.0.3version 15.0.3.1version 14.1.3.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Retail Integration Bus version 16.0.3version 19.0.1version 15.0.3.1version 14.1.3.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Retail Merchandising System version 16.0.3version 19.0.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Retail Service Backbone version 19.0.1version 16.0.3version 15.0.3.1version 14.1.3.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Oracle Weblogic Server version 14.1.1.0.0version 12.2.1.4.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.5 CVSS 3.1 High 3.9 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.0 CVSS 2.0 Medium 10.0 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 7.44%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Look for anomalous data read/export volumes and access to sensitive records.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logsauthentication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · apache software foundation/apache santuario
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.5
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2021
  • CVE published
    Sep 19, 2021 · apache

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

14 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Apache Software Foundation
every CVE for this vendor
Info disclosure
same class
CWE-200
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-97468 Apache CXF: Authentication bypass via weak cache keys for validated STS tokens 6d
  • CVE-2026-86463 Apache CXF: FIQL Query Parser Denial of Service 6d
  • CVE-2026-79650 Apache CXF: OIDC RP Open Redirect 6d
  • CVE-2026-97791 Apache CXF: STSTokenValidator can accept untrusted SAML assertions because it shares validation state between requests 6d
  • CVE-2026-107938 Apache CXF: The Netty HTTP client transport does not perform TLS hostname verification. 6d
  • CVE-2026-107937 Apache CXF: The attachment header size and count limits can be bypassed, which allows denial of service through memory exhaustion. 6d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2021-40690 is "Bypass of the secureValidation property", rated High. It affects Apache Santuario (Apache Software Foundation); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 7.44% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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