Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach ATS over TLS (SNI)
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DeliveryEstablish session on non-STRICT vhost
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ExploitObtain resumable session ticket
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ExecutionResume session targeting verify_client STRICT vhost
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PersistBypass required client-cert check
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ImpactAccess protected backend without certificate
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V12 - Secure Communication Certificate validation
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an ATS deployment that serves multiple SNI virtual hosts and enforces verify_client STRICT (mandatory client-certificate authentication) on at least one of them, with TLS session resumption enabled and session state shared/resumable across those SNI hosts. The attacker must be able to first establish a resumable session via a host that does not demand a client certificate, then resume it against the STRICT-protected host. Limiting factors: deployments that do not use client-certificate authentication (verify_client STRICT) are not exposed at all, and single-host or non-shared-session-cache configurations are unaffected; no user interaction or prior authentication is otherwise needed. |
| Impact | This is a genuine access-control flaw but not an urgent mass-exploitation priority based on available signals. The Apache-supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) describes network-reachable, unauthenticated, low-complexity exploitation, and the base score of 7.8 (HIGH) is driven entirely by subsequent-system impact (SC:H/SI:H) with zero impact to the ATS instance itself (VC:N/VI:N/VA:N) - consistent with CWE-295: the bug lets a client bypass the client-certificate check protecting a backing virtual host rather than compromising ATS directly. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or proof-of-concept was provided, so there is no evidence of active exploitation; this is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' A key caveat: the AC:L/PR:N rating treats the attack as trivially reachable, but exploitation is materially gated by a specific server configuration (at least one SNI virtual host enforcing verify_client STRICT, with TLS session resumption and a shared session context across SNI hosts). That configuration dependency is not captured by CVSS attack complexity and should temper real-world urgency - verify whether your deployment actually uses verify_client STRICT before treating this as critical. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker first completes a normal TLS handshake to an ATS SNI virtual host that does not require a client certificate, obtaining a resumable session ticket/ID. They then initiate a resumed TLS session but target (via SNI) a sibling virtual host configured with verify_client STRICT, and ATS honors the resumption without re-verifying the mandatory client certificate - granting access to the protected host without ever presenting a valid certificate. No public proof-of-concept was provided, and the attack is remote and unauthenticated but depends on the multi-host STRICT configuration being present. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Oct 21, 2026
Client-certificate authentication bypass in Apache Traffic Server (8.0.0 through 8.1.11, 9.0.0 through 9.2.15, 10.0.0 through 10.1.4, and 10.2.0) lets an unauthenticated remote attacker resume a previously negotiated TLS session against an SNI virtual host that is configured with the verify_client STRICT policy, reaching backends that should have demanded a client certificate. The attacker only needs to first establish a resumable session on a virtual host that does not require client certificates, then resume it against the protected host; deployments that do not use verify_client STRICT, or that do not share session state across SNI hosts, are not exposed. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis, and the practical risk is concentrated in multi-tenant TLS-termination front ends that mix mutual-TLS and non-mTLS virtual hosts on the same instance.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Apache Traffic Server (8.0.0-8.1.11, 9.0.0-9.2.15, 10.0.0-10.1.4, and 10.2.0) allows a TLS session resumption to be carried across SNI virtual hosts without re-verifying the client certificate demanded by the resumed host's verify_client STRICT policy, so a remote unauthenticated attacker who first establishes a resumable session against a less-restricted virtual host can present the SNI of a mutual-TLS-protected host and inherit its trust. The result is a full bypass of the client-certificate control, rated CVSS 10.0 (S:C, C:H/I:H) because one host's flaw defeats the authentication boundary of another; impact is confined to deployments that both terminate TLS for multiple SNI hosts and enable verify_client STRICT on at least one of them, a deliberate non-default configuration. No public exploit code or confirmed active exploitation is identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Apache Traffic Server 9.2.16, 10.1.5, or 10.2.1 as directed in the Apache advisory (https://lists.apache.org/thread/r95dq29ywcd1f4x30snxlqmb12z4s4kc). If an immediate upgrade is not possible, break the attack precondition that a session from a non-mTLS host can be resumed on a STRICT host: disable TLS session resumption and session tickets on any ATS instance that mixes verify_client STRICT and non-STRICT SNI hosts (for example via the proxy.config.ssl.session_cache / proxy.config.ssl.session_ticket settings), accepting the trade-off of a full handshake - including certificate exchange - for every connection, which raises CPU cost and latency; alternatively, isolate STRICT-protected virtual hosts onto a separate ATS instance or listener that shares no session cache with non-mTLS hosts, which costs extra process/port management but preserves resumption performance; as a last resort, remove verify_client STRICT from hosts that share a session cache with open hosts and enforce client-certificate checks on the origin instead, accepting that the proxy then no longer provides that control. Restrict access to mTLS-protected virtual hosts by network ACL where feasible while patching is pending.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Apache Traffic Server is a caching/forwarding proxy that frequently terminates TLS itself, selecting a virtual host by SNI and optionally enforcing mutual TLS per host through verify_client (with STRICT meaning a client certificate is mandatory). TLS session resumption - via session IDs or session tickets - is designed so that a previously completed handshake, including its authentication state, can be re-established without repeating certificate exchange. The flaw maps to CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation): when a session established under a host with no client-certificate requirement is resumed on a different SNI virtual host, ATS does not re-run the client-certificate verification demanded by the resumed host's STRICT policy, so the resumed session inherits the weaker authentication state of the original host. This is a scope-changing access-control failure (CVSS 4.0 SC:H/SI:H, assessed CVSS 3.1 S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N): the proxy itself is not necessarily compromised, but the protected virtual host and its backends are exposed to a party that never presented a certificate. Exposure depends on configuration - multiple SNI virtual hosts on one ATS instance, at least one with verify_client STRICT, resumption enabled, and session state that is shared or resumable across those hosts - which is exactly why deployments that do not use client-certificate authentication are unaffected.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N
Remote unauthenticated client-cert bypass (PR:N) with scope change (S:C) since the flaw in the TLS layer grants access to a separately-protected virtual host, yielding C:H/I:H and no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (apache).
CVSS VectorVendor: apache
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
Apache Traffic Server can resume a TLS session across SNI virtual hosts without re-verifying a client certificate required by the resumed host's verify_client STRICT policy.
This issue affects Apache Traffic Server: from 8.0.0 through 8.1.11, from 9.0.0 through 9.2.15, from 10.0.0 through 10.1.4, 10.2.0.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 9.2.16, 10.1.5, or 10.2.1, which fix the issue.
Executive ViewAI
Apache Traffic Server front ends that mix mutual-TLS and non-mTLS virtual hosts can expose certificate-protected backends through a session-resumption flaw, undermining a key access control in multi-tenant or partner-facing environments. Leadership should prioritize this because affected deployments may rely on client certificates to separate tenants or protect sensitive services, and no vendor-released patch is identified at time of analysis. Risk is concentrated in configurations using verify_client STRICT with shared TLS session state across SNI hosts, so focused inventory and isolation can reduce exposure quickly.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis; interim mitigations include segregating mTLS and non-mTLS SNI virtual hosts onto separate Apache Traffic Server instances, disabling or isolating cross-SNI TLS session resumption/shared session caches, enforcing client-certificate validation at backends or an upstream control, and limiting exposure of affected TLS-termination front ends.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-107500
GHSA-h35r-68fc-8f5m
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
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