Description
Improper Input Validation, Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') vulnerability in Apache Camel Kafka Component.

The camel-kafka producer can override its configured target topic at runtime from the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC Exchange header: KafkaProducer.evaluateTopic() returns the header value in preference to the topic configured on the endpoint. The control-header constants in KafkaConstants (for example OVERRIDE_TOPIC = kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC, OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP = kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP, PARTITION_KEY = kafka.PARTITION_KEY) used plain, non-Camel-prefixed values. camel-kafka's own KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy does filter the kafka.* namespace, but only on the Kafka-to-Exchange serialization boundary (reading Kafka record headers into the Exchange, and writing Exchange headers into a Kafka record); it does not apply to headers that arrive from an upstream consumer in a multi-component route. The upstream HTTP consumer uses HttpHeaderFilterStrategy, which blocks only the Camel / camel namespace, so a kafka.* header passes through unfiltered. As a result, in a route that bridges an HTTP consumer (for example platform-http) into a kafka: producer, any HTTP client could set the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC header and cause the message to be published to an arbitrary Kafka topic instead of the configured one - redirecting it to a sensitive internal topic, or injecting attacker-crafted messages into a topic consumed by a critical downstream service. The related kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP and kafka.PARTITION_KEY headers could likewise be injected to backdate messages or target specific partitions. No credentials are required when the bridging consumer is unauthenticated.
This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 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. After upgrading, routes that set or read Kafka headers via the raw header names must use the CamelKafka* names (for example CamelKafkaOverrideTopic and CamelKafkaTopic) instead of the old kafka.* values. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, strip the kafka.* headers from any untrusted ingress before the kafka: producer (for example removeHeaders('kafka.*') at the start of the route), and set the target topic from a trusted source.
Published: 2026-07-06
Score: 5.3 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

Apache Camel’s camel‑kafka component contains an improper input validation flaw that lets an attacker override the Kafka topic used by a producer by setting a kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC header. Because the component’s header filter does not block kafka.* headers on the upstream HTTP consumer side, an unauthenticated HTTP client can inject the header and direct messages to any topic. The attacker may target sensitive internal topics or inject crafted messages into streams consumed by critical services. This flaw is a CWE‑20 input validation error and a CWE‑74 injection, compromising message confidentiality, integrity and availability.

Affected Systems

Version 4.0.0 up to but not including 4.14.8, 4.15.0 up to but not including 4.18.3 and 4.19.0 up to but not including 4.21.0 of Apache Camel from the Apache Software Foundation are affected. The problem was fixed in releases 4.14.8, 4.18.3 and 4.21.0.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 5.3 reflects moderate severity, and the EPSS score of less than 1 % suggests exploitation is unlikely at present. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. Because no authentication is required, any client reaching an unauthenticated camel‑kafka producer can supply the malicious header. An attacker could publish to arbitrary topics, backdate messages with kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP, or force a specific partition with kafka.PARTITION_KEY.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 23, 2026 at 15:09 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade Apache Camel to the fixed release (4.21.0, or 4.14.8 for the 4.14.x LTS stream, or 4.18.3 for the 4.18.x stream).
  • If an upgrade cannot be applied immediately, remove all kafka.* headers from untrusted input before the camel‑kafka producer, for example by adding removeHeaders('kafka.*') at the start of the route.
  • After upgrading, review all routes that set or read Kafka headers and replace raw kafka.* keys with the new CamelKafka* constants such as CamelKafkaOverrideTopic and CamelKafkaPartitionKey.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on July 23, 2026 at 15:09 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Moderate

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apache
Apache camel
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache camel

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Improper Input Validation, Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') vulnerability in Apache Camel Kafka Component. The camel-kafka producer can override its configured target topic at runtime from the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC Exchange header: KafkaProducer.evaluateTopic() returns the header value in preference to the topic configured on the endpoint. The control-header constants in KafkaConstants (for example OVERRIDE_TOPIC = kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC, OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP = kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP, PARTITION_KEY = kafka.PARTITION_KEY) used plain, non-Camel-prefixed values. camel-kafka's own KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy does filter the kafka.* namespace, but only on the Kafka-to-Exchange serialization boundary (reading Kafka record headers into the Exchange, and writing Exchange headers into a Kafka record); it does not apply to headers that arrive from an upstream consumer in a multi-component route. The upstream HTTP consumer uses HttpHeaderFilterStrategy, which blocks only the Camel / camel namespace, so a kafka.* header passes through unfiltered. As a result, in a route that bridges an HTTP consumer (for example platform-http) into a kafka: producer, any HTTP client could set the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC header and cause the message to be published to an arbitrary Kafka topic instead of the configured one - redirecting it to a sensitive internal topic, or injecting attacker-crafted messages into a topic consumed by a critical downstream service. The related kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP and kafka.PARTITION_KEY headers could likewise be injected to backdate messages or target specific partitions. No credentials are required when the bridging consumer is unauthenticated. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 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. After upgrading, routes that set or read Kafka headers via the raw header names must use the CamelKafka* names (for example CamelKafkaOverrideTopic and CamelKafkaTopic) instead of the old kafka.* values. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, strip the kafka.* headers from any untrusted ingress before the kafka: producer (for example removeHeaders('kafka.*') at the start of the route), and set the target topic from a trusted source.
Title Apache Camel: Camel-Kafka: The kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC (and other kafka.*) Exchange header constants used non-Camel-prefixed names that bypass the upstream HTTP header filter, allowing an HTTP client to redirect Kafka messages to an arbitrary topic
Weaknesses CWE-20
CWE-74
References

Subscriptions

Apache Camel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-07-07T12:27:08.483Z

Reserved: 2026-05-27T11:44:53.864Z

Link: CVE-2026-49098

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-07-06T09:25:41.455Z

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-07-06T08:10:43Z

Links: CVE-2026-49098 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-07-23T15:15:18Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-20

    Improper Input Validation

  • CWE-74

    Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')