CVE-2026-92899

Apache WSS4J: UsernameToken replay protection bypassed by re-encoding the Nonce

Published Sep 30, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 4.8 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
Apache WSS4J remembers the Nonce of each UsernameToken it accepts, so a captured token cannot be reused. It stored the Nonce as raw base64 text, but authentication decodes that text and uses the bytes.The same bytes can be written as base64 in several ways. An attacker who captured an authenticated request could re-send it with a space added to the Nonce: the password digest still verified, but the token no longer matched the remembered one, so the replay was accepted. Since a UsernameToken does not cover the message body, the captured token could then be reused on requests of the attacker's choosing until it expired. Affects deployments with a nonce replay cache configured, as Apache CXF has by default, and only tokens using a password digest. The cache is now keyed on the decoded Nonce. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.0.2 or 3.0.6 or 2.4.4, which fix this issue.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

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History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-180
Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:wss4j:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apache
Apache wss4j
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache wss4j
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-290
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Apache WSS4J remembers the Nonce of each UsernameToken it accepts, so a captured token cannot be reused. It stored the Nonce as raw base64 text, but authentication decodes that text and uses the bytes.The same bytes can be written as base64 in several ways. An attacker who captured an authenticated request could re-send it with a space added to the Nonce: the password digest still verified, but the token no longer matched the remembered one, so the replay was accepted. Since a UsernameToken does not cover the message body, the captured token could then be reused on requests of the attacker's choosing until it expired. Affects deployments with a nonce replay cache configured, as Apache CXF has by default, and only tokens using a password digest. The cache is now keyed on the decoded Nonce. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.0.2 or 3.0.6 or 2.4.4, which fix this issue.
Title Apache WSS4J: UsernameToken replay protection bypassed by re-encoding the Nonce
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
apache
Published
Updated
Nov 6, 2026, 6:14 PM
Reserved
Sep 17, 2026, 10:21 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Sep 30, 2026, 1:17 PM
Modified
Nov 6, 2026, 7:18 PM