CVE-2026-90436 (CVSS 9.8)

Description

** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** Deserialization of an inbound SOAP fault in Apache Axis 1.x allows unauthenticated remote class instantiation. When a SOAP <Fault> carries a <detail><exceptionName> element, Axis loads the named class and, if a String <data> element is also present, instantiates it through its String constructor before checking that it is an AxisFault. Loading alone runs the class's static initializer. With a suitable class on the application's classpath this leads to remote code execution. The fault is parsed while the engine resolves the target service, before any per-service handler chain runs, so authentication handlers configured on a service do not protect against it. This affects all Apache Axis 1.x versions through 1.4. As Axis 1 has been EOL we recommend you migrate to a different SOAP engine, such as Apache Axis 2/Java. Alternatively you could use a build of Axis with the patch from https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/41f3b4e8d04e310ca81f86b92630ab2c11d608bd applied. The Apache Axis project does not expect to create an Axis 1.x release fixing this problem.

Is your site exposed to CVE-2026-90436?

Run a free security scan — no signup, results in seconds.

CVSS v3.1 Score

9.8

CRITICAL

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0113

Probability of exploitation

0.67%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-470 CWE-470

References

Other References

https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/41f3b4e8d04e310ca81f86b92630ab2c11d608bd https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/8slf0j9gz35z56t0glt5h0ncwlbn4bdz http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/11/06/12

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-90436? +

** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** Deserialization of an inbound SOAP fault in Apache Axis 1.x allows unauthenticated remote class instantiation. When a SOAP <Fault> carries a <detail><exceptionName> element, Axis loads the named class and, if a String <data> element is also present, instantiates it through its String constructor before checking that it is an AxisFault. Loading alone runs the class's static initializer. With a suitable class on the application's classpath this leads to remote code execution. The fault is parsed while the engine resolves the target service, before any per-service handler chain runs, so authentication handlers configured on a service do not protect against it. This affects all Apache Axis 1.x versions through 1.4. As Axis 1 has been EOL we recommend you migrate to a different SOAP engine, such as Apache Axis 2/Java. Alternatively you could use a build of Axis with the patch from https://github.com/apache/axis-axis1-java/commit/41f3b4e8d04e310ca81f86b92630ab2c11d608bd applied. The Apache Axis project does not expect to create an Axis 1.x release fixing this problem. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-90436? +

CVE-2026-90436 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 out of 10, rated CRITICAL. This is a critical vulnerability that should be patched immediately. The EPSS score is 0.0113, placing it in the 1th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-90436? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

Related Vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-2794

An unsafe reflection vulnerability in Kentico Xperience allows an unauthenticated attacker to kill the current process, leading to a Denial-of-Service …

CVE-2026-106439

Hydra is a framework for elegantly configuring complex applications. From 1.3.4 until 1.3.7 and 1.4.0.dev10, Hydra stores legacy instantiate target …

CVE-2026-97666

Sonatype Nexus Repository 3 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to supply attacker-controlled input to a Java class loading call through …

CVE-2026-108097

Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection') vulnerability in Drupal Drupal core allows Reflection Injection. This …

CVE-2026-61599

djust provides Phoenix LiveView-style reactive server-side rendering for Django with Rust-powered performance. Prior to version 1.0.7, the djust live transport …

CVE-2026-44174

Kirby is an open-source content management system. Prior to 4.9.1 and 5.4.1, Kirby did not validate the model attributes that …