Severity by source
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from Vendor (CNA).
CVSS VectorNVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionNVD
JsonKafkaHeaderMapper and the deprecated DefaultKafkaHeaderMapper matched type headers against trusted packages using a prefix check, meaning that trusting any package implicitly trusted all of its subpackages. Combined with Jackson's default bean deserialization, a producer could supply crafted header values that caused the consumer to deserialize arbitrary JDK types.
Affected versions: Spring for Apache Kafka 4.0.0 through 4.0.5; 3.3.0 through 3.3.15; 3.2.0 through 3.2.13; 2.9.0 through 2.9.13; 2.8.0 through 2.8.11.
Articles & Coverage 1
AnalysisAI
Unsafe deserialization in Spring for Apache Kafka (versions 2.8.0-4.0.5 across multiple branches) allows a malicious Kafka producer to send crafted message headers that cause downstream consumers to instantiate arbitrary JDK types via Jackson. The flaw stems from a prefix-based trusted-packages check in JsonKafkaHeaderMapper and the deprecated DefaultKafkaHeaderMapper, which silently extends trust to every subpackage. …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires the attacker to be able to produce messages to a Kafka topic that a vulnerable Spring for Apache Kafka consumer reads, with that consumer configured to use JsonKafkaHeaderMapper or DefaultKafkaHeaderMapper for header type mapping. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | CVSS 8.1 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/C:H/I:H/A:H) reflects an unauthenticated, network-reachable attack with high impact across CIA, mitigated by high attack complexity. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | An attacker who can publish records to a Kafka topic consumed by a vulnerable Spring application crafts a message header whose declared Java type points to a class in a subpackage of any trusted package (or one matching the prefix), with a JSON value that drives Jackson's default bean deserialization into a gadget chain present on the consumer classpath. When the consumer reads the record, the header mapper accepts the type, Jackson constructs the attacker-chosen object, and side effects of that construction yield arbitrary code execution or sensitive data disclosure in the consumer JVM. … |
| Remediation | Upgrade Spring for Apache Kafka to a fixed release on your branch - consult the Spring advisory at https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-41731 for the exact patched versions, since the input data lists only the vulnerable ranges and a specific fixed build number was not independently confirmed here. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
24 HOURS: Identify systems running Spring for Apache Kafka versions 2.8.0-4.0.5. …
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-35908
GHSA-xq69-5h5v-x9x4