CVE-2025-30177: Apache Camel Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-30177 Overview

CVE-2025-30177 is a header injection vulnerability in the Apache Camel camel-undertow component. The custom header filter strategy only filters headers in the out direction and fails to filter incoming headers. Attackers can inject Camel-specific headers over HTTP that alter downstream component behavior. Components such as camel-bean and camel-exec interpret these headers and may execute attacker-controlled methods or commands. The issue affects Apache Camel 4.10.0 before 4.10.3 and 4.8.0 before 4.8.6. This weakness is categorized under CWE-164: Improper Neutralization of Internal Special Elements.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can inject Camel headers through HTTP requests handled by camel-undertow, potentially triggering method invocation in camel-bean or command execution in camel-exec.

Affected Products

Apache Camel 4.10.0 through 4.10.2 (camel-undertow component)
Apache Camel 4.8.0 through 4.8.5 (camel-undertow component)
Applications routing HTTP traffic through camel-undertow into camel-bean or camel-exec

Discovery Timeline

2025-04-01 - CVE-2025-30177 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-30177

Vulnerability Analysis

Apache Camel routes messages between endpoints using components that share a common exchange model. Message headers travel with each exchange and can control component behavior. The camel-undertow component exposes HTTP endpoints backed by the Undertow web server. Its header filter strategy determines which headers cross the component boundary. In the vulnerable versions, the filter only inspects headers moving out from Camel to the HTTP client. Headers arriving in from external HTTP requests pass unfiltered into the Camel exchange. Downstream components then treat attacker-supplied HTTP headers as trusted Camel control headers.

Root Cause

The root cause is asymmetric header filtering in the UndertowHeaderFilterStrategy. The applyFilterToCamelHeaders path is enforced, but the applyFilterToExternalHeaders path does not strip Camel-reserved header names such as CamelBeanMethodName or CamelExecCommandArgs. Any HTTP client can set these headers on an inbound request, and Camel propagates them into the exchange without sanitization.

Attack Vector

An attacker sends an HTTP request to a Camel route exposed by camel-undertow. The attacker adds a header such as CamelBeanMethodName to force invocation of an alternate method on a bean bound to the route. Against routes chaining into camel-exec, the attacker can override the executable or arguments through headers like CamelExecCommandExecutable or CamelExecCommandArgs. The technique matches the pattern described in the related Apache Camel CVE-2025-27636 Advisory and Apache Camel CVE-2025-29891 Advisory. No authentication is required when the Undertow endpoint is publicly reachable. Successful exploitation depends on the specific components chained after camel-undertow.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-30177

Indicators of Compromise

Inbound HTTP requests containing headers prefixed with Camel, CamelBean, or CamelExec reaching Undertow endpoints.
Unexpected process executions spawned by Java processes running Apache Camel where routes include camel-exec.
Bean method invocations that do not match the method configured in the route definition.

Detection Strategies

Inspect HTTP access logs and reverse proxy telemetry for request headers matching the pattern Camel* on routes served by camel-undertow.
Enable Camel tracing on affected routes and alert when exchange headers include reserved Camel names sourced from external input.
Correlate Java process ancestry with child process creation events on hosts running Camel integrations to spot unauthorized command execution.

Monitoring Recommendations

Ship application and web server logs to a centralized analytics platform and build queries for reserved Camel header names in inbound traffic.
Baseline the expected set of bean methods and executables invoked by Camel routes, then alert on deviations.
Monitor outbound network connections from Camel hosts for signs of post-exploitation activity.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-30177

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Apache Camel to 4.10.3 for the 4.10.x LTS branch or 4.8.6 for the 4.8.x LTS branch.
Audit all routes that use camel-undertow and identify chains into camel-bean, camel-exec, or other components that consume control headers.
Restrict network access to Undertow endpoints so only trusted callers can reach them until patching completes.

Patch Information

The Apache Camel project addressed the flaw by extending the UndertowHeaderFilterStrategy to filter Camel-reserved headers in both directions. Fixed releases are 4.10.3 and 4.8.6, announced on the Apache Camel security mailing list. Users on unsupported branches should migrate to a supported LTS release before applying the fix.

Workarounds

Configure a custom HeaderFilterStrategy on the camel-undertow component that removes any header name starting with Camel from inbound messages.
Place a reverse proxy or web application firewall in front of Camel endpoints and strip request headers matching Camel* before forwarding.
Refactor routes to explicitly set required headers using .setHeader(...) after the Undertow consumer, overwriting any attacker-supplied values.

bash

# Example: strip Camel-reserved headers at an Nginx reverse proxy
location /camel/ {
    proxy_pass http://camel-undertow-backend/;
    proxy_set_header CamelBeanMethodName "";
    proxy_set_header CamelExecCommandExecutable "";
    proxy_set_header CamelExecCommandArgs "";
    proxy_set_header CamelHttpMethod $request_method;
}