UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90436: Medium severity ubuntu/axis vulnerability
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.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Apache Axis 1.xto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Patch 41f3b4e8d04e310ca81f86b92630ab2c11d608bd
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can exploit this issue?
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit it by sending a SOAP fault containing a detail exceptionName element. Successful code execution requires a suitable class to already be present on the application's classpath.
Do service-level authentication handlers prevent exploitation?
No. The vulnerable fault parsing occurs while Axis resolves the target service, before any per-service handler chain runs, so service-configured authentication handlers do not protect against it.
Which deployments should be considered affected?
All Apache Axis 1.x versions through 1.4 are affected. A deployment using Axis 1.x should be treated as exposed if it accepts inbound SOAP traffic.
What can be done if no vendor release is available?
Apache Axis 1 is end of life and no Axis 1.x fix release is expected. Migrate to another SOAP engine such as Apache Axis 2/Java, or use an Axis build with the referenced upstream patch applied.