In Apache CXF, STSTokenValidator checks whether a SAML assertion is signed by a trusted certificate before deciding to send it to the STS. That result was stored in one object shared by all requests, so one request could read another's result. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could send a forged assertion signed with an untrusted certificate while legitimate requests were being processed, and it could be accepted as trusted without ever reaching the STS. Only services that use STSTokenValidator to validate SAML tokens without alwaysValidateToSts set are affected. 
Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.
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Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In Apache CXF, STSTokenValidator checks whether a SAML assertion is signed by a trusted certificate before deciding to send it to the STS. That result was stored in one object shared by all requests, so one request could read another's result. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could send a forged assertion signed with an untrusted certificate while legitimate requests were being processed, and it could be accepted as trusted without ever reaching the STS. Only services that use STSTokenValidator to validate SAML tokens without alwaysValidateToSts set are affected.  Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.
Title Apache CXF: STSTokenValidator can accept untrusted SAML assertions because it shares validation state between requests
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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-09T10:19:26.153Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T04:38:00.142Z

Link: CVE-2026-97791

cve-icon Vulnrichment

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cve-icon NVD

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cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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