CXF supports (via JwtRequestCodeFilter) passing OAuth 2 parameters via a JWT token as opposed to query parameters (see: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework: JWT Secured Authorization Request (JAR)). Instead of sending a JWT token as a "request" parameter, the spec also supports specifying a URI from which to retrieve a JWT token from via the "request_uri" parameter. CXF was not validating the "request_uri" parameter (apart from ensuring it uses "https) and was making a REST request to the parameter in the request to retrieve a token. This means that CXF was vulnerable to DDos attacks on the authorization server, as specified in section 10.4.1 of the spec. This issue affects Apache CXF versions prior to 3.4.3; Apache CXF versions prior to 3.3.10.

By default, Apache CXF creates a /services page containing a listing of the available endpoint names and addresses. This webpage is vulnerable to a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack via the styleSheetPath, which allows a malicious actor to inject javascript into the web page. This vulnerability affects all versions of Apache CXF prior to 3.4.1 and 3.3.8. Please note that this is a separate issue to CVE-2019-17573.

Apache CXF has the ability to integrate with JMX by registering an InstrumentationManager extension with the CXF bus. If the ‘createMBServerConnectorFactory‘ property of the default InstrumentationManagerImpl is not disabled, then it is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle (MITM) style attack. An attacker on the same host can connect to the registry and rebind the entry to another server, thus acting as a proxy to the original. They are then able to gain access to all of the information that is sent and received over JMX.

The implementations of PKCS#1 v1.5 key transport mechanism for XMLEncryption in JBossWS and Apache WSS4J before 1.6.5 is susceptible to a Bleichenbacher attack.

By default, Apache CXF creates a /services page containing a listing of the available endpoint names and addresses. This webpage is vulnerable to a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attack, which allows a malicious actor to inject javascript into the web page. Please note that the attack exploits a feature which is not typically not present in modern browsers, who remove dot segments before sending the request. However, Mobile applications may be vulnerable.

Apache CXF ships with a OpenId Connect JWK Keys service, which allows a client to obtain the public keys in JWK format, which can then be used to verify the signature of tokens issued by the service. Typically, the service obtains the public key from a local keystore (JKS/PKCS12) by specifing the path of the keystore and the alias of the keystore entry. This case is not vulnerable. However it is also possible to obtain the keys from a JWK keystore file, by setting the configuration parameter "rs.security.keystore.type" to "jwk". For this case all keys are returned in this file "as is", including all private key and secret key credentials. This is an obvious security risk if the user has configured the signature keystore file with private or secret key credentials. From CXF 3.3.5 and 3.2.12, it is mandatory to specify an alias corresponding to the id of the key in the JWK file, and only this key is returned. In addition, any private key information is omitted by default. "oct" keys, wh…

Apache CXF before 3.3.4 and 3.2.11 provides all of the components that are required to build a fully fledged OpenId Connect service. There is a vulnerability in the access token services, where it does not validate that the authenticated principal is equal to that of the supplied clientId parameter in the request. If a malicious client was able to somehow steal an authorization code issued to another client, then they could exploit this vulnerability to obtain an access token for the other client.

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".

Versions of Apache CXF Fediz prior to 1.4.4 do not fully disable Document Type Declarations (DTDs) when either parsing the Identity Provider response in the application plugins, or in the Identity Provider itself when parsing certain XML-based parameters.

It is possible to configure Apache CXF to use the com.sun.net.ssl implementation via 'System.setProperty("java.protocol.handler.pkgs", "com.sun.net.ssl.internal.www.protocol");'. When this system property is set, CXF uses some reflection to try to make the HostnameVerifier work with the old com.sun.net.ssl.HostnameVerifier interface. However, the default HostnameVerifier implementation in CXF does not implement the method in this interface, and an exception is thrown. However, in Apache CXF prior to 3.2.5 and 3.1.16 the exception is caught in the reflection code and not properly propagated. What this means is that if you are using the com.sun.net.ssl stack with CXF, an error with TLS hostname verification will not be thrown, leaving a CXF client subject to man-in-the-middle attacks.