CVE-2026-91048: Apache Karaf: Missing authorization on the jdbc:* shell command scope allows privilege escalation to remote code execution via jdbc:ds-create

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 28 Oct 2026. If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

0.5%

EPSS score, percentile 45.6 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

9.8 Critical

CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

Advisories and patches (1)

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• before 4.4.12

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

• lists.apache.org (Vendor advisory)

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 29 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Versions not listed are: unaffected.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

The jdbc shell command scope shipped no org.apache.karaf.command.acl.jdbc.cfg. Karaf's command guard (SecuredSessionFactoryImpl) treats a command with no matching ACL rule as allowed, so any authenticated shell session (including one holding only the viewer role) could run every jdbc:* command. jdbc:ds-create stores a fully attacker-controlled JDBC URL into a pax-jdbc-config factory Configuration…

Summary: CVE record, as of 29 Oct 2026.

• CISA has not added CVE-2026-91048 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record was published on 29 Sep 2026.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.5% (percentile 45.6), as of 29 Oct 2026. EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a report of exploitation.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact total.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Apache Karaf: Missing authorization on the jdbc:* shell command scope allows privilege escalation to remote code execution via jdbc:ds-create

The jdbc shell command scope shipped no org.apache.karaf.command.acl.jdbc.cfg. Karaf's command guard (SecuredSessionFactoryImpl) treats a command with no matching ACL rule as allowed, so any authenticated shell session (including one holding only the viewer role) could run every jdbc:* command. jdbc:ds-create stores a fully attacker-controlled JDBC URL into a pax-jdbc-config factory Configuration with no validation. pax-jdbc-config reactively turns that into a live DataSource. Several JDBC drivers run code or SQL at connection time based on URL parameters (e.g. H2 INIT=RUNSCRIPT), so a viewer-level shell user could reach arbitrary code execution, bypassing the admin-role gate that already protects shell:exec. This is a privilege-escalation-to-RCE chain, not merely an "admin misconfiguration". The same applies to jms:* shell commands.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline

Known exploited Apache vulnerabilities

• CVE-2016-3081: Apache Struts Command Injection Vulnerability (added 8 Oct 2026)
• CVE-2026-34486: Apache Tomcat Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data Vulnerability (added 4 Aug 2026)
• CVE-2026-34197: Apache ActiveMQ Improper Input Validation Vulnerability (added 16 Apr 2026)
• CVE-2024-38475: Apache HTTP Server Improper Escaping of Output Vulnerability (added 1 May 2025)
• CVE-2025-24813: Apache Tomcat Path Equivalence Vulnerability (added 1 Apr 2025)