CVE Intelligence
High Insecure deserialization

CVE-2026-41731 — In Spring for Apache Kafka, overly broad trusted-package matching in header mappers exposes JDK classes to deserialization

JsonKafkaHeaderMapper and the deprecated DefaultKafkaHeaderMapper matched type headers against trusted packages using a prefix check, meaning that trusting any package implicitly trusted all of its subpackages. Combined with Jackson's default bean deserialization, a producer could supply crafted header values that caused the consumer to deserialize arbitrary JDK types. Affected versions: Spring for Apache Kafka 4.0.0 through 4.0.5; 3.3.0 through 3.3.15; 3.2.0 through 3.2.13; 2.9.0 through 2.9.13; 2.8.0 through 2.8.11.

Published Jun 9, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: vmware

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 0.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+7
  • Technical severity (high)+6

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
0.65%
ahead of 50% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Red Hat
Fuse and 3 more
CVSS base
8.1
High · 3 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
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

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

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

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 (Red Hat Fuse, Red Hat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack, Spring Spring for Apache Kafka…).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (insecure deserialization), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Red Hat Fuse version 7.0.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Red Hat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Spring Spring for Apache Kafka ≥ 4.0.0 and < 4.0.5.1≥ 3.3.0 and < 3.3.15.1≥ 3.2.0 and < 3.2.14≥ 2.9.0 and < 2.9.14≥ 2.8.0 and < 2.8.12 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Vmware Spring For Apache Kafka ≥ 2.8.0 and < 2.8.12≥ 2.9.0 and < 2.9.14≥ 3.2.0 and < 3.2.14≥ 3.3.0 and < 3.3.15.1≥ 4.0.0 and < 4.0.5.1 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
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

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

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 security@vmware.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High — — vmware via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: security@vmware.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.65%

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).
  • Monitor serialized objects in requests and unexpected processes spawned by the runtime.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSendpoint telemetry (EDR)application logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · spring/spring for apache kafka
    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
  • CVSS changed · 8.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jun 9, 2026 · vmware

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

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

References

4 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Red Hat
every CVE for this vendor
Insecure deserialization
same class
CWE-502
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-84823 Org.wildfly.core: wildfly: path traversal in take-snapshot discloses the server configuration to the monitor role 1h
  • CVE-2026-10832 Org.wildfly.security/wildfly-elytron-asn1: unbounded memory allocation in wildfly elytron asn.1 derdecoder via crafted der payload 27d
  • CVE-2026-89058 Resteasy-core: resteasy: corsfilter reflects arbitrary origin with credentials under wildcard config 27d
  • CVE-2026-89059 Resteasy-core: resteasy: iioimageprovider unbounded image decode (decompression-bomb dos) 27d
  • CVE-2026-81829 Smallrye-jwt: quarkus-smallrye-jwt: smallrye-jwt: unauthenticated same-origin ssrf via unsanitized jwt kid header in awsalbkeyresolver 28d
  • CVE-2026-17615 Resteasy-core: resteasy sourceprovider remote unauthenticated file read Aug 31, 2026

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 fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • 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-2026-41731 is "In Spring for Apache Kafka, overly broad trusted-package matching in header mappers exposes JDK classes to deserialization", rated High. It affects Fuse (Red Hat); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.65% 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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