CVE-2026-27446: Apache Artemis authentication bypass (CVSS 9.8)

Description

Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Apache Artemis, Apache ActiveMQ Artemis. An unauthenticated remote attacker can use the Core protocol to force a target broker to establish an outbound Core federation connection to an attacker-controlled rogue broker. This could potentially result in message injection into any queue and/or message exfiltration from any queue via the rogue broker. This impacts environments that allow both: - incoming Core protocol connections from untrusted sources to the broker - outgoing Core protocol connections from the broker to untrusted targets This issue affects: - Apache Artemis from 2.50.0 through 2.51.0 - Apache ActiveMQ Artemis from 2.11.0 through 2.44.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to Apache Artemis version 2.52.0, which fixes the issue. The issue can be mitigated by one of the following: - Remove Core protocol support from any acceptor receiving connections from untrusted sources. Incoming Core protocol connections are supported by default via the "artemis" acceptor listening on port 61616. See the "protocols" URL parameter configured for the acceptor. An acceptor URL without this parameter supports all protocols by default, including Core. - Use two-way SSL (i.e. certificate-based authentication) in order to force every client to present the proper SSL certificate when establishing a connection before any message protocol handshake is attempted. This will prevent unauthenticated exploitation of this vulnerability. - Implement and deploy a Core interceptor to deny all Core downstream federation connect packets. Such packets have a type of (int) -16 or (byte) 0xfffffff0. Documentation for interceptors is available at https://artemis.apache.org/components/artemis/documentation/latest/intercepting-operations.html .

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorNetwork

Attack complexityLow

Privileges requiredNone

User interactionNone

ScopeUnchanged

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Apache Artemis≥ 2.11.0 ≤ 2.44.0 · 2.50.0

Remediation

No fixed version is recorded in the NVD data. Check the vendor advisory for the latest guidance.

Patch & vendor advisories

https://lists.apache.org/thread/jwpsdc8tdxotm98od8n8n30fqlzoc8gg

References

and 6 more references

Related CVEs

Recent high-severity vulnerabilities sharing a weakness type.

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2026-27446 being actively exploited?

CVE-2026-27446 is not in the CISA KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit probability is 1.18%.

How severe is CVE-2026-27446?

CVE-2026-27446 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated critical. EPSS estimates a 1.18% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-27446?

Affected products include Apache Artemis.

How do I fix CVE-2026-27446?

Apply the vendor's patch or advisory guidance, then verify no affected versions remain across your devices.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-27446 against the real software inventory on every managed device, every day. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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