Description
Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions. When a WS-Policy document contains circular policy references (where Policy A references Policy B which references Policy A), the policy normalization process can enter an infinite loop or cause excessive recursion, leading to a stack overflow or application hang. An attacker can craft malicious policy documents with circular references to cause a Denial of Service condition Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue.
Affected products
apache: neethi
References2
- lists.apache.org/thread/zm6t8skkkskjwk1881l4m4n0l7dqclzo Mailing ListVendor Advisory
- www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/7 Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
Metrics
- CVSS 3.1
-
7.5
HIGH
Score source: CNA
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - EPSS — exploit probability
- 1% percentile: 56 · as of 13 November 2026
- CWE
- CWE-400
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