CVE-2026-91864: Apache Neethi: Crafted WS-Policy documents bypass element/attribute limits causing memory exhaustion

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-21 · updated 2026-09-25
Weakness: CWE-770

Description

A specially crafted WS-Policy document can pack unlimited content inside a policy assertion, which Neethi copies into memory without counting it against its size limits, exhausting the heap (denial of service). Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.4, which fixes this issue.

Affected products

Apache Software Foundation Apache Neethi: before 3.2.4 — fixed in 3.2.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Apache Software Foundation Apache Neethi 3.2.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://lists.apache.org/thread/400kbynbyhqhsjkv1yz251jm9wdz8z69
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/18/11

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