CVE-2026-43512
Description
A flaw was found in Apache Tomcat. When DIGEST authentication was configured, any user not known to the configured Realm would be authenticated if they presented the password "null". This allows a remote attacker to bypass security controls.
Statement
This Moderate flaw in Apache Tomcat allows an authentication bypass when DIGEST authentication is configured. An attacker can authenticate as any unknown user by providing the password 'null', potentially gaining unauthorized access to applications protected by DIGEST authentication. Red Hat products are only affected if they are configured to use DIGEST authentication, which is not a common, out of the box and expected configuration for Production environments.
Furthermore, because the unknown user is not mapped to any valid realm roles, their access is still restricted by standard application authorization constraints, significantly limiting the actual impact.
The unknown user is not mapped to any existing user, which means, it does not steal credentials nor impersonate an existing user. This new user is expected to have the minimum possible authentication and authorization range within the realm inherited roles.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, disable DIGEST authentication within Apache Tomcat if it is not essential for your environment. This involves modifying the server's authentication configuration to utilize alternative methods or remove the DIGEST realm. A service restart is required for these changes to take effect and may impact functionality relying on DIGEST authentication.
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 | 6.5 | N/A | 9.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Frequently Asked Questions
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