CVE-2026-29145
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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.
Additional information
- This content is not included.Bugzilla 2457037: Apache Tomcat: Apache Tomcat: Authentication bypass due to CLIENT_CERT soft fail misconfiguration
- Content from cwe.mitre.org is not included.CWE-303: Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm
External References
Affected Packages and Issued Red Hat Security Errata
Unless explicitly stated as not affected, all previous versions of packages in any minor update stream of a product listed here should be assumed vulnerable, although may not have been subject to full analysis.
| Products / Services | Components | State | Errata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat9 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:36790 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | tomcat6 | Out of support scope | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | tomcat | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | pki-deps:10.6/pki-servlet-engine | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | pki-servlet-engine | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | tomcat | Fix deferred | |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.2 on RHEL 10 | jws6-tomcat | Fixed | RHSA-2026:20405 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.2 on RHEL 8 | jws6-tomcat | Fixed | RHSA-2026:20405 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.2 on RHEL 9 | jws6-tomcat | Fixed | RHSA-2026:20405 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.2.3 | tomcat | Fixed | RHSA-2026:20406 |
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
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 Authorities (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications ).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS v3 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 Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
CVSS v3 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
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Red Hat's CVSS v3 score or Impact different from other vendors?
For more information, see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/762393.
My product is listed as "Under investigation" or "Affected", when will Red Hat release a fix for this vulnerability?
- "Under investigation" doesn't necessarily mean that the product is affected by this vulnerability. It only means that our Analysis Team is still working on determining whether the product is affected and how it is affected.
- "Affected" means that our Analysis Team has determined that this product is affected by this vulnerability and might release a fix to address this in the near future.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Will not fix"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Upgrade to a supported product version that includes a fix for this vulnerability (recommended).
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
What can I do if my product is listed as "Fix deferred"?
Available options depend mostly on the Impact of the vulnerability and the current Life Cycle phase of your product. Overall, you have the following options:
- Apply a mitigation (if one exists).
- Open a This content is not included.support case to request a prioritization of releasing a fix for this vulnerability.
- Red Hat Engineering focuses on addressing high-priority issues based on their complexity or limited lifecycle support. Therefore, lower-priority issues will not receive immediate fixes.
What is a mitigation?
I have a Red Hat product but it is not in the above list, is it affected?
Why is my security scanner reporting my product as vulnerable to this vulnerability even though my product version is fixed or not affected?
My product is listed as "Out of Support Scope". What does this mean?
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