CVE-2026-91085 (GCVE-0-2026-91085)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-29 08:39 – Updated: 2026-09-29 09:15
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Apache Karaf: config:install missing ACL entry allows privilege escalation to admin
Summary
Apache Karaf's shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.<scope>.cfg). SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity() resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, fails open: ACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH sets passCheck = true. The safety valve for this, karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles, ships commented out in etc/system.properties, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user.
The shipped org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config ACL (assemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml, mirrored into instance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg) has no install entry. It restricts delete to admin, restricts edit/property-*/update on the jmx.acl.*, org.apache.karaf.command.acl.* and org.apache.karaf.service.acl.* PIDs to admin, and allows manager for everything else, but config:install was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the viewer role.
config:install <url> <finalname> fetches url and writes it into ${karaf.etc} as finalname. It calls PathUtils.checkWithin() to block .. traversal outside karaf.etc, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships: users.properties, keys.properties, host.key, and all org.apache.karaf.*.acl.* files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With -o/--override, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL.
Because felix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc} (etc/config.properties), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any .cfg file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart.
By contrast, bundle:install, feature:install and kar:install are all admin-only in their own ACLs, and config:delete is admin in this same ACL, config:install was the outlier.
MitigationAdd install = admin in etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg (create the file is absent), and/or set karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin in etc/system.properties (and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
CWE
Assigner
References
2 references
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://karaf.apache.org/security/cve-2026-91085.txt | vendor-advisory |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/0… |
Impacted products
1 product
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache Karaf |
Affected:
0 , < 4.4.12
(semver)
|
guessed |
{
"containers": {
"adp": [
{
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-29T09:15:47.789Z",
"orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
"shortName": "CVE"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/28/10"
}
],
"title": "CVE Program Container"
}
],
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Apache Karaf",
"vendor": "Apache Software Foundation",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "4.4.12",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"credits": [
{
"lang": "en",
"type": "reporter",
"value": "Rin Ray \u003crindilray@gmail.com\u003e"
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"supportingMedia": [
{
"base64": false,
"type": "text/html",
"value": "Apache Karaf\u0027s shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (\u003ccode\u003eetc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.\u0026lt;scope\u0026gt;.cfg\u003c/code\u003e).\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eSecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity()\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, \u003cb\u003efails open\u003c/b\u003e:\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;sets\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003epassCheck = true\u003c/code\u003e. The safety valve for this,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ekaraf.secured.command.compulsory.roles\u003c/code\u003e, ships commented out in\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eetc/system.properties\u003c/code\u003e, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThe shipped\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eorg.apache.karaf.command.acl.config\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;ACL (\u003ccode\u003eassemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml\u003c/code\u003e, mirrored into\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003einstance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg\u003c/code\u003e) has no\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003einstall\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;entry. It restricts\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003edelete\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eadmin\u003c/code\u003e, restricts\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eedit\u003c/code\u003e/\u003ccode\u003eproperty-*\u003c/code\u003e/\u003ccode\u003eupdate\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;on the\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ejmx.acl.*\u003c/code\u003e,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eorg.apache.karaf.command.acl.*\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eorg.apache.karaf.service.acl.*\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;PIDs to\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eadmin\u003c/code\u003e, and allows\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003emanager\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;for everything else, but\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003econfig:install\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eviewer\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;role.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003econfig:install \u0026lt;url\u0026gt; \u0026lt;finalname\u0026gt;\u003c/span\u003e\u0026nbsp;fetches\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eurl\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;and writes it into\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003e${karaf.etc}\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;as\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003efinalname\u003c/code\u003e. It calls\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ePathUtils.checkWithin()\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;to block\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003e..\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;traversal outside\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ekaraf.etc\u003c/code\u003e, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships:\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eusers.properties\u003c/code\u003e,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ekeys.properties\u003c/code\u003e,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ehost.key\u003c/code\u003e, and all\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eorg.apache.karaf.*.acl.*\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003e-o\u003c/code\u003e/\u003ccode\u003e--override\u003c/code\u003e, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBecause\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003efelix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc}\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;(\u003ccode\u003eetc/config.properties\u003c/code\u003e), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003e.cfg\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart.\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eBy contrast,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ebundle:install\u003c/code\u003e,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003efeature:install\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ekar:install\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;are all\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eadmin\u003c/code\u003e-only in their own ACLs, and\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003econfig:delete\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eadmin\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;in this same ACL,\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003econfig:install\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;was the outlier.\u003c/div\u003e\u003ch3\u003eMitigation\u003c/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eAdd\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003einstall = admin\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eetc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;(create the file is absent), and/or set\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003ekaraf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;\u003ccode\u003eetc/system.properties\u003c/code\u003e\u0026nbsp;(and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default.\u003c/div\u003e"
}
],
"value": "Apache Karaf\u0027s shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.\u003cscope\u003e.cfg).\u00a0SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity()\u00a0resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, fails open:\u00a0ACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH\u00a0sets\u00a0passCheck = true. The safety valve for this,\u00a0karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles, ships commented out in\u00a0etc/system.properties, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user.\n\n\nThe shipped\u00a0org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config\u00a0ACL (assemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml, mirrored into\u00a0instance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg) has no\u00a0install\u00a0entry. It restricts\u00a0delete\u00a0to\u00a0admin, restricts\u00a0edit/property-*/update\u00a0on the\u00a0jmx.acl.*,\u00a0org.apache.karaf.command.acl.*\u00a0and\u00a0org.apache.karaf.service.acl.*\u00a0PIDs to\u00a0admin, and allows\u00a0manager\u00a0for everything else, but\u00a0config:install\u00a0was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the\u00a0viewer\u00a0role.\n\n\n\n\nconfig:install \u003curl\u003e \u003cfinalname\u003e\u00a0fetches\u00a0url\u00a0and writes it into\u00a0${karaf.etc}\u00a0as\u00a0finalname. It calls\u00a0PathUtils.checkWithin()\u00a0to block\u00a0..\u00a0traversal outside\u00a0karaf.etc, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships:\u00a0users.properties,\u00a0keys.properties,\u00a0host.key, and all\u00a0org.apache.karaf.*.acl.*\u00a0files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With\u00a0-o/--override, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL.\n\n\n\n\nBecause\u00a0felix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc}\u00a0(etc/config.properties), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any\u00a0.cfg\u00a0file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart.\n\n\n\n\nBy contrast,\u00a0bundle:install,\u00a0feature:install\u00a0and\u00a0kar:install\u00a0are all\u00a0admin-only in their own ACLs, and\u00a0config:delete\u00a0is\u00a0admin\u00a0in this same ACL,\u00a0config:install\u00a0was the outlier.\n\nMitigationAdd\u00a0install = admin\u00a0in\u00a0etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg\u00a0(create the file is absent), and/or set\u00a0karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin\u00a0in\u00a0etc/system.properties\u00a0(and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default."
}
],
"metrics": [
{
"other": {
"content": {
"text": "moderate"
},
"type": "Textual description of severity"
},
"scenarios": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "GENERAL"
}
]
}
],
"problemTypes": [
{
"descriptions": [
{
"cweId": "CWE-862",
"description": "CWE-862",
"lang": "en",
"type": "CWE"
}
]
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-29T08:39:33.209Z",
"orgId": "f0158376-9dc2-43b6-827c-5f631a4d8d09",
"shortName": "apache"
},
"references": [
{
"tags": [
"vendor-advisory"
],
"url": "https://karaf.apache.org/security/cve-2026-91085.txt"
}
],
"source": {
"discovery": "EXTERNAL"
},
"title": "Apache Karaf: config:install missing ACL entry allows privilege escalation to admin",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "Vulnogram 1.0.3"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "f0158376-9dc2-43b6-827c-5f631a4d8d09",
"assignerShortName": "apache",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-91085",
"datePublished": "2026-09-29T08:39:33.209Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-09-14T17:55:38.562Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-29T09:15:47.789Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2",
"vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
"epss": {
"cve": "CVE-2026-91085",
"date": "2026-09-30",
"epss": "0.00163",
"percentile": "0.04931"
},
"nvd": {
"cve": {
"affected": [
{
"affectedData": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Apache Karaf",
"vendor": "Apache Software Foundation",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "4.4.12",
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
}
]
}
],
"source": "security@apache.org"
}
],
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "Apache Karaf\u0027s shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.\u003cscope\u003e.cfg).\u00a0SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity()\u00a0resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, fails open:\u00a0ACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH\u00a0sets\u00a0passCheck = true. The safety valve for this,\u00a0karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles, ships commented out in\u00a0etc/system.properties, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user.\n\n\nThe shipped\u00a0org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config\u00a0ACL (assemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml, mirrored into\u00a0instance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg) has no\u00a0install\u00a0entry. It restricts\u00a0delete\u00a0to\u00a0admin, restricts\u00a0edit/property-*/update\u00a0on the\u00a0jmx.acl.*,\u00a0org.apache.karaf.command.acl.*\u00a0and\u00a0org.apache.karaf.service.acl.*\u00a0PIDs to\u00a0admin, and allows\u00a0manager\u00a0for everything else, but\u00a0config:install\u00a0was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the\u00a0viewer\u00a0role.\n\n\n\n\nconfig:install \u003curl\u003e \u003cfinalname\u003e\u00a0fetches\u00a0url\u00a0and writes it into\u00a0${karaf.etc}\u00a0as\u00a0finalname. It calls\u00a0PathUtils.checkWithin()\u00a0to block\u00a0..\u00a0traversal outside\u00a0karaf.etc, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships:\u00a0users.properties,\u00a0keys.properties,\u00a0host.key, and all\u00a0org.apache.karaf.*.acl.*\u00a0files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With\u00a0-o/--override, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL.\n\n\n\n\nBecause\u00a0felix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc}\u00a0(etc/config.properties), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any\u00a0.cfg\u00a0file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart.\n\n\n\n\nBy contrast,\u00a0bundle:install,\u00a0feature:install\u00a0and\u00a0kar:install\u00a0are all\u00a0admin-only in their own ACLs, and\u00a0config:delete\u00a0is\u00a0admin\u00a0in this same ACL,\u00a0config:install\u00a0was the outlier.\n\nMitigationAdd\u00a0install = admin\u00a0in\u00a0etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg\u00a0(create the file is absent), and/or set\u00a0karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin\u00a0in\u00a0etc/system.properties\u00a0(and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default."
}
],
"id": "CVE-2026-91085",
"lastModified": "2026-09-29T14:56:12.013",
"metrics": {},
"published": "2026-09-29T09:17:10.347",
"references": [
{
"source": "security@apache.org",
"url": "https://karaf.apache.org/security/cve-2026-91085.txt"
},
{
"source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/28/10"
}
],
"sourceIdentifier": "security@apache.org",
"vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis",
"weaknesses": [
{
"description": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "CWE-862"
}
],
"source": "security@apache.org",
"type": "Secondary"
}
]
}
}
}
}
Loading…
Loading…
Experimental. This forecast is provided for visualization only and may change without notice. Do not use it for operational decisions.
Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Loading…
Loading…
The MITRE ATT&CK techniques below are AI-generated suggestions, inferred from the description of the
vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
Loading…
Related by attack behaviour
Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.
Loading…