XML external entity processing in Apache Camel XPath exposes files
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-611 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
Apache Camel from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5 and from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1 is affected. With documentType set to InputSource, the XPath component uses JDK default XML parser settings, so a DOCTYPE refused by the default document type is accepted and its external entity is expanded. An external sender whose XML reaches such an expression can read files the Camel process can read and make it request hosts the sender names.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
Description from the CNA
Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability in Apache Camel XPath component. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.18.5, from 4.19.0 before 4.22.1. With documentType set to InputSource, XPathBuilder handed the payload straight to javax.xml.xpath, which builds a DocumentBuilder of its own using the JDK defaults. The hardening applied to Camel's default document type was therefore bypassed: a DOCTYPE declaration that is refused on the default type was accepted here, and the external entity it declared was resolved and expanded into the evaluated document. An external sender whose XML reaches such an expression could read files readable by the Camel process and cause the process to issue requests to hosts it names. The two document types disagreeing on parser configuration is what made this reachable, since a deployment choosing InputSource for streaming reasons had no indication it was also choosing a weaker parser. Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, which fixes the issue. Users on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream should upgrade to 4.18.5. Users on the 4.22.x LTS releases stream should upgrade to 4.22.1. The InputSource document type now goes through the same hardened parser as the default type, so a DOCTYPE is refused. Note that it also shares that type's documented escape hatch: the same DocumentBuilderFactory system properties that relax the default type relax this one, so a deployment that has set them remains unprotected by design. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, do not use documentType=InputSource on expressions evaluated over untrusted XML; the default document type already refuses a DOCTYPE.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.18.5 on the 4.18.x LTS stream, 4.22.1 on the 4.22.x LTS stream, or 4.23.0. Red Hat lists Red Hat Fuse 7 as affected without a fix (no fix planned), and Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 and Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 as affected without a fix (none available). Until upgrading, do not use documentType=InputSource on expressions evaluated over untrusted XML, since the default document type already refuses a DOCTYPE.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-28
- Fix · CNA Apache Camel (Apache Software Foundation) Fixed in 4.18.5, 4.22.1, 4.23.0
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
Apache Camel 4.18.5, 4.22.1
39 records Highest priority Priority HIGH 6 HIGH, 9 MEDIUM, 24 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-76322 Unsafe deserialization in Apache Camel camel-hazelcastPriority HIGH 82
- TI-2026-76339 Path traversal in Apache Camel azure-files componentPriority HIGH 74
- TI-2026-76330 Path traversal in Apache Camel FTP consumer escapes polled directoryPriority HIGH 74
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. 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 build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat build of Apache Camel - HawtIO 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-19 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-85250
- 2026-10-19 Alias added: GHSA-x9f8-58m2-93q2
- 2026-10-19 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
- 2026-11-04 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
References
Patch 5
- Apache Camel Security Advisory - CVE-2026-85250
- CAMEL-24475
- Fix on main, released in 4.23.0 (commit 1ead256f1bfcef36c2572a88809bcd7547bdc111)
- Backport to camel-4.22.x, released in 4.22.1 (commit 260989268cbc6d258b1fcba63770be8ebbec40cb)
- Backport to camel-4.18.x, released in 4.18.5 (commit af1efbcccf5882b1ef0094db718972da3190e7e9)
More Apache Camel vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-76322 Unsafe deserialization in Apache Camel camel-hazelcast CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2026-18973 Apache Camel: Camel-Keycloak: Cross-Realm Token Acceptance Bypass in KeycloakSecurityPolicy CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-76339 Path traversal in Apache Camel azure-files component CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2026-76330 Path traversal in Apache Camel FTP consumer escapes polled directory CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2025-20435 Apache Camel: Camel Message Header Injection via Improper Filtering CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.6
- TI-2026-34899 Apache Camel: Camel-CXF Message Header Injection via Missing Inbound Filtering CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-85250 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-85250 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x9f8-58m2-93q2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-85250 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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