CVE Intelligence
High Input validation

CVE-2026-85532 — Improper Input Validation in Apache Software Foundation Wss4j

Apache WSS4J accepted attacker-controlled derived-key lengths and offsets without adequate bounds. This could permit cryptographically weak keys or excessive CPU and memory consumption when processing crafted WS-Security messages. The fixes enforce a minimum key length of 16 bytes, a maximum length of 512 bytes, and a maximum offset of 4096 bytes. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.0.2 or 3.0.6 or 2.4.4, which fix this issue.

Published Sep 30, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database · CNA: security@apache.org

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
  • 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
—
No EPSS score.
Affects
Apache Software Foundation
Wss4j
CVSS base
7.5
High · 1 source(s)

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 (Apache Software Foundation Wss4j).
  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 (input validation), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Apache Software Foundation Wss4j < 2.4.4≥ 3.0.0 and < 3.0.6≥ 4.0.0 and < 4.0.2 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
None
Integrity
None
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
7.5 CVSS 3.1 High 3.9 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation

Other CVEs with this weakness →

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).
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.5
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Sep 30, 2026 · security@apache.org

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Apache Software Foundation
every CVE for this vendor
Input validation
same class
CWE-20
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-95616 Apache WSS4J: Unauthenticated denial of service via integer overflow in DER parsing of X.509 certificate extensions 15d
  • CVE-2026-89238 Apache WSS4J: WSS4J EncryptedHeader child confusion causing wrong protected-header selection 15d
  • CVE-2026-92121 Apache WSS4J: WS-SecurityPolicy signature checks skipped in the streaming code after an STR-Transform reference 15d
  • CVE-2026-92899 Authentication Bypass by Spoofing in Apache Software Foundation Wss4j 15d
  • CVE-2026-87830 Apache WSS4J: Streaming WS-SecurityPolicy validation may skip element-protection checks. 15d
  • CVE-2026-88920 Improper Authentication in Apache Software Foundation Wss4j 15d

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 FIRST EPSS score.
  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • 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-2026-85532 is "Improper Input Validation in Apache Software Foundation Wss4j", rated High. It affects Wss4j (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. 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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