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CVE-2026-46453 Apache Camel

Affected softwareApache Camel
Severity5.3 Medium CVSS 3.1
Fixed in4.14.8, 4.18.3, 4.21.0
WeaknessImproper input validation (CWE-20)
Published6 Jul 2026
Updated25 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.

  • 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

1 of these are GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars. They are listed for reference and don't count toward the exploitation status above.

IndexArtifactStarsFirst 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

No exploit published

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
PackageIntroducedFixedLast 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
SourceVendorProductSchemeAffected 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

URLTags
https://github.com/apache/camel/pull/23212 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/pull/23244 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/commit/0a87d31c8d19f59da4a5477bde192cc258ecc5d7 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/commit/81f3a625c8853d6dff5fd748a0da9dba259c4076 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/commit/ff88400e3a95af16e17d553b34d3752d96496c5d WEB
https://camel.apache.org/security/CVE-2026-46453.html WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel PACKAGE
https://github.com/apache/camel/releases/tag/camel-4.14.8 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/releases/tag/camel-4.18.3 WEB
https://github.com/apache/camel/releases/tag/camel-4.21.0 WEB

Timeline

Published2026-07-06By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified2026-10-25NVD's own last-modified date for this record.