Apache WSS4J: UsernameToken replay protection bypassed by re-encoding the Nonce
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-290.
Summary
Apache WSS4J remembers the Nonce of each UsernameToken it accepts, so a captured token cannot be reused. It stored the Nonce as raw base64 text, but authentication decodes that text and uses the bytes.The same bytes can be written as base64 in several ways. An attacker who captured an authenticated request could re-send it with a space added to the Nonce: the password digest still verified, but the token no longer matched the remembered one, so the replay was accepted. Since a UsernameToken does not cover the message body, the captured token could then be reused on requests of the attacker's choosing until it expired. Affects deployments with a nonce replay cache configured, as Apache CXF has by default, and only tokens using a password digest. The cache is now keyed on the decoded Nonce. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.0.2 or 3.0.6 or 2.4.4, which fix this issue.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache WSS4J | 4.0.0 to before 4.0.2; 3.0.0 to before 3.0.6; before 2.4.4 | 4.0.2, 3.0.6, 2.4.4 | Patch available | CNA |
- Apache WSS4J VendorApache Affected 4.0.0 to before 4.0.2; 3.0.0 to before 3.0.6; before 2.4.4 Fixed in 4.0.2, 3.0.6, 2.4.4 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Apache WSS4J (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 4.0.2, 3.0.6, 2.4.4
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Apache WSS4J 2.4.4, 3.0.6, 4.0.2
7 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 5 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-60291 Apache WSS4J: SAML Sender-Vouches Authentication BypassPriority MEDIUM 50
- TI-2026-60412 Apache WSS4J: WSS4J EncryptedHeader child confusion causing wrong protected-header selectionPriority MEDIUM 47
- TI-2026-59946 Apache WSS4J: Streaming WS-SecurityPolicy validation may skip element-protection checks.Priority MEDIUM 47
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-92899
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pw3c-6w58-28w4
- 2026-11-04 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-04 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Weakness changed · CNA
References
More Apache Wss4j vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-10913 Velocity Sandbox Bypass CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-60291 Apache WSS4J: SAML Sender-Vouches Authentication Bypass CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-60412 Apache WSS4J: WSS4J EncryptedHeader child confusion causing wrong protected-header selection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-59946 Apache WSS4J: Streaming WS-SecurityPolicy validation may skip element-protection checks. CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2015-00198 Apache WSS4J before 1.6.17 and 2.0.x before 2.0.2 improperly leaks information about… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-62217 Apache WSS4J: WS-SecurityPolicy signature checks skipped in the streaming code after an STR-Transform reference CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-92899 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-92899 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pw3c-6w58-28w4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-92899 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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