CVE-2026-29145
Description
A flaw was found in Apache Tomcat and Apache Tomcat Native. When CLIENT_CERT authentication is configured with "soft fail" disabled, the authentication process may not correctly fail in certain scenarios. This vulnerability could allow an attacker to bypass expected client certificate authentication, potentially leading to unauthorized access to protected resources.
Statement
This Moderate vulnerability in Apache Tomcat and Apache Tomcat Native arises when CLIENT_CERT authentication is configured with "soft fail" disabled. This misconfiguration can lead to an authentication bypass, potentially allowing unauthorized access to protected resources. Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, along with Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 and 6, are affected if running Apache Tomcat with this specific configuration.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, ensure that CLIENT_CERT authentication is configured to strictly enforce client certificate validation. Review the Apache Tomcat conf/server.xml configuration. For SSLHostConfig or Connector elements, set the clientAuth attribute to required or ensure softFail is enabled if optional client certificate authentication is desired. A restart of the Apache Tomcat service is necessary for these configuration changes to apply.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.9 | N/A | 9.1 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Frequently Asked Questions
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