Apache Karaf up to 4.4.11 ACL Configuration org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Apache Karaf up to 4.4.11. This impacts the function SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity of the file etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg of the component ACL Configuration. Executing a manipulation can lead to privileges management. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-91085. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Apache Karaf up to 4.4.11. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects the function SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity of the file etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg of the component ACL Configuration. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

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.

The advisory is shared for download at karaf.apache.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-91085 since 09/14/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 09/29/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1068.

Upgrading to version 4.4.12 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• Apache

Name

• Karaf

Version

• 4.4.0
• 4.4.1
• 4.4.2
• 4.4.3
• 4.4.4
• 4.4.5
• 4.4.6
• 4.4.7
• 4.4.8
• 4.4.9
• 4.4.10
• 4.4.11

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.apache.org/

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