CVE-2026-46453 Apache Camel
| Affected software | Apache Camel |
|---|---|
| Severity | 5.3 Medium CVSS 3.1 |
| Fixed in | 4.14.8, 4.18.3, 4.21.0 |
| Weakness | Improper input validation (CWE-20) |
| Published | 6 Jul 2026 |
| Updated | 25 Oct 2026 |
Description
Improper Input Validation, Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache Camel ElasticSearch Rest Client. The camel-elasticsearch-rest-client component reads several Exchange headers to control its behaviour - SEARCH_QUERY (an advanced query body), OPERATION (which Elasticsearch operation to run), INDEX_NAME, INDEX_SETTINGS and ID. The string values of these header constants, defined in ElasticSearchRestClientConstant, are plain unprefixed names ('SEARCH_QUERY', 'OPERATION', 'INDEX_NAME', 'INDEX_SETTINGS', 'ID') rather than the 'Camel'-prefixed names used by every other Camel component (for example CamelSqlQuery, CamelMongoDbCriteria, CamelCqlQuery). Camel's inbound HTTP header filter, HttpHeaderFilterStrategy, blocks only header names that begin with 'Camel' or 'camel'. Because the Elasticsearch header names do not carry that prefix, they pass through the inbound filter unchanged. When a Camel route exposes an HTTP entry point (for example platform-http) in front of an elasticsearch-rest-client producer, an untrusted HTTP client can set these headers directly on its request and override the query and operation that the route author configured: reading every document in the index (SEARCH_QUERY with a match_all query), deleting documents (OPERATION set to Delete together with ID), or exfiltrating selected fields. No credentials are required and the producer reads the headers unconditionally. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.3.0 before 4.14.8, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.3, from 4.19.0 before 4.21.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.21.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.8. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.3. The fix renames the camel-elasticsearch-rest-client Exchange header constant string values (ID, SEARCH_QUERY, INDEX_SETTINGS, INDEX_NAME, OPERATION) to carry the Camel prefix (CamelElasticsearchId, CamelElasticsearchSearchQuery, CamelElasticsearchIndexSettings, CamelElasticsearchIndexName, CamelElasticsearchOperation) so that they are blocked by the inbound HttpHeaderFilterStrategy; the Java field names are unchanged. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, strip the affected headers from untrusted inbound messages before they reach the producer (for example removeHeader('SEARCH_QUERY'), removeHeader('OPERATION'), removeHeader('INDEX_NAME'), removeHeader('INDEX_SETTINGS') and removeHeader('ID') in front of the elasticsearch-rest-client endpoint), or apply a custom HeaderFilterStrategy that blocks these names.
CWE-639
Exploitation status
No public exploit
No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. The 1 repository below are public GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars.
Exploitation status
- CISA KEV not listed
- VulnCheck KEV not listed
- CISA Vulnrichment exploitation: none
- Indexed PoC 1 indexed, none at 5+ stars
- EPSS 0.55% chance in 30 days
| Index | Artifact | Stars | First seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub PoC | Reproducer for CVE-2026-46453 — Apache Camel camel-elasticsearch-rest-client unprefixed-header injection (operation/query override via inbound HTTP headers) | 2026-07-13 |
Waratek protection
Within Waratek scope. In the sources we check, nobody has published exploit code for this CVE or reported it being exploited.
A public code fix exists: apache/camel #23212.
- Protection none
- Action unverified
- Review automated Upstream data
- Record active
| Decided by | Medium or Low severity, no CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory |
|---|---|
| Finding | This CVE is MEDIUM severity, is not listed in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV, has no public exploit or PoC in any indexed source, carries no CISA Vulnrichment finding of a demonstrated exploit, and is not part of an Oracle Critical Patch Update. None of the signals that would put it in front of an engineer is present, and the volume of CVEs below that bar is too great to take one at a time, so no rule is written for it. This is a decision about what we act on, not a finding that the CVE is harmless — a patch may well be derivable, and a low-severity defect can still be one link in a longer chain. |
Affected software and releases
Maven packages
Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev| Package | Introduced | Fixed | Last affected |
|---|---|---|---|
org.apache.camel:camel-elasticsearch-rest-client |
4.3.0 | 4.14.8 |
unbounded |
org.apache.camel:camel-elasticsearch-rest-client |
4.15.0 | 4.18.3 |
unbounded |
org.apache.camel:camel-elasticsearch-rest-client |
4.19.0 | 4.21.0 |
unbounded |
Products and versions
2 products, 6 version entries| Source | Vendor | Product | Scheme | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nvd | apache | camel | generic | ≥ 4.3.0 and < 4.14.8 · ≥ 4.15.0 and < 4.18.3 · ≥ 4.19.0 and < 4.21.0 |
| osv | org.apache.camel | camel-elasticsearch-rest-client | generic | ≥ 4.3.0 and < 4.14.8 · ≥ 4.15.0 and < 4.18.3 · ≥ 4.19.0 and < 4.21.0 |
References
Timeline
Timeline
| Published | 2026-07-06 | By the CVE Program. |
|---|---|---|
| NVD record modified | 2026-10-25 | NVD's own last-modified date for this record. |