CVE-2026-118259

MEDIUM CVSS 5.3
Published: 2026-10-28
Modified: 2026-10-29
Enriched via mock
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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-118259 is a moderate vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.3 affecting the target software. Authentication can be bypassed allowing unauthenticated access. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

opentelemetry-java is the Java implementation of the OpenTelemetry API for recording telemetry, and SDK for managing telemetry recorded by the API. Prior to 1.67.0, W3CTraceContextPropagator.extract() uses regex delimiter processing that can exhibit quadratic backtracking while parsing tracestate headers containing long runs of spaces or tabs without a following comma. An unauthenticated attacker whose headers reach extraction can repeatedly block request or event-loop threads and cause excessive CPU consumption, with practical impact bounded by ingress header-size limits, proxy configuration, and threading. This issue is fixed in version 1.67.0.

Attack Chain
1
Reconnaissance

Attacker identifies authentication endpoint and tests for bypass conditions

2
Initial Access

Attacker exploits CVE-2026-118259 authentication flaw to gain unauthorized access without valid credentials

3
Discovery

Attacker enumerates accessible resources, users, and configurations

4
Collection

Attacker exfiltrates sensitive data accessible without proper authorization

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1078 Valid Accounts
Initial Access

Authentication bypass grants attacker access as legitimate user

T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
Privilege Escalation

Bypassed auth may grant elevated or admin-level permissions

Indicators of Compromise
Type Value Description
user_agent Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0) Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url /api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious> Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params
Remediation
1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.
Quick Facts
CVE ID CVE-2026-118259
CVSS Score 5.3
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Published 2026-10-28
Exploited No
CISA KEV No
PoC Not public
References
External Resources
NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News