Home/CVE/Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache Camel PQC component. The camel-pqc component persists post-qu
CVE

CVE-2026-46590

Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache Camel PQC component. The camel-pqc component persists post-qu

Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache Camel PQC component. The camel-pqc component persists post-quantum key metadata (KeyMetadata) through pluggable KeyLifecycleManager implementations. HashicorpVaultKeyLifecycleManager and AwsSecretsManagerKeyLifecycleManager read that metadata back from the configured secret backend by deserializing a Base64-wrapped value with a raw java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject() and no ObjectInputFilter or class allow-list.

the cast to KeyMetadata happens only after readObject() returns, so any readObject() side effects in a crafted object run before the type check. The same unfiltered legacy-migration read also remained in FileBasedKeyLifecycleManager (for the stored KeyPair and KeyMetadata). A principal who can write to the operator-controlled backend that holds these values - the HashiCorp Vault KV path, or the AWS Secrets Manager secret (requiring a Vault token or secretsmanager:PutSecretValue) - could store a crafted serialized object that is deserialized during normal key-lifecycle operations, potentially leading to code execution in the context of the application that manages the keys. This is an incomplete-remediation follow-on to CVE-2026-40048 (CAMEL-23200), which changed FileBasedKeyLifecycleManager to store metadata as JSON / PKCS#8 / X.509 but did not add an ObjectInputFilter, did not cover the Vault and AWS sibling managers, and left FileBasedKeyLifecycleManager's own legacy-migration deserialization unfiltered. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.18.0 before 4.18.3, from 4.19.0 before 4.21.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.21.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.3. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, restrict write access to the key backend so that only the application's own identity can write the camel-pqc secrets (least-privilege HashiCorp Vault policies and secretsmanager:PutSecretValue IAM), and keep the PQC key material in a backend separate from any data that less-trusted principals can write.

HIGH · CVSS 8.8 EPSS 0.00381
EPSS exploitation odds0.38% · top 69%
Schedule remediation
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2026-46590, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).

Severity & exploitation scoring

View on NVD →
CVSS base score
8.8
HIGHCVSS v3.1 · [email protected]
EPSS exploitation probability
0.38%
Top 69%odds of exploitation in the next 30 days
CVSS metric silhouette
VectorComplexityPrivilegesInteractionScopeConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
shape grows toward worst-case
SSVC triage · cisa-vulnrichment
Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Tech impact
total
CVSS vector breakdown
Exploitability - how they get in
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Impact - what breaks
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
VECTORCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

ATT&CK techniques

1

Techniques this CVE enables. Pills with a solid outline are high confidence - named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei, or human-curated by CTID; the rest are inferred from the weakness type using MITRE's CVE Mapping Methodology and the CWE → CAPEC chain. Broad, generic-weakness guesses are filtered out. A small marks a technique that N independent sources agree on.

▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques

CAPEC attack patterns

1

Attack patterns this CVE enables - the bridge from weakness to ATT&CK technique.

Weakness Classification

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References & Sources

1
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.