Potential DOS attack due to unrestricted attachment count in messages

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

6.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2019-12406: 6.26% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 93.57 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Apache CXF before 3.3.4 and 3.2.11 does not restrict the number of message attachments present in a given message. This leaves open the possibility of a denial of service type attack, where a malicious user crafts a message containing a very large number of message attachments. From the 3.3.4 and 3.2.11 releases, a default limit of 50 message attachments is enforced. This is configurable via the message property "attachment-max-count".

Published by the source

8 Nov 2019, 17:15 UTC

Last modified by the source

1 Feb 2023, 05:02 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:05 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-58p8-9g59-q2hr

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2019-12406

Advisory: Potential DOS attack due to unrestricted attachment count in messages
IDs: CVE-2019-12406, GHSA-58p8-9g59-q2hr
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2019-12406 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:05 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: org.apache.cxf:cxf 3.3.4, 3.2.11; org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf 3.3.4, 3.2.11. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.apache.cxf:cxf: affected < 3.2.11; >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.4; fixed in 3.2.11, 3.3.4
- Maven org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf: affected < 3.2.11; >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.4; fixed in 3.2.11, 3.3.4

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven org.apache.cxf:cxf: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Maven org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.apache.cxf:cxf, org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-58p8-9g59-q2hr (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-58p8-9g59-q2hr lists affected ranges: Maven org.apache.cxf:cxf >=0 =3.3.0 =0 =3.3.0 <3.3.4)

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