CVE-2026-55994: Apache Camel Iggy Component SSRF Flaw

CVE-2026-55994 Overview

CVE-2026-55994 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) and information disclosure vulnerability in the Apache Camel camel-iggy component. The consumer maps inbound Iggy message user-headers directly into the Camel Exchange header map without applying any HeaderFilterStrategy. An attacker who can publish to a consumed Iggy stream can inject Camel-internal control headers such as CamelHttpUri, redirecting downstream HTTP producer requests to attacker-chosen destinations. The HTTP producer also resolves Camel property placeholders on the injected URI, disclosing environment variables, application properties, and vault secrets.

Critical Impact
Attackers publishing to a consumed Iggy topic can force server-side HTTP requests to internal services or cloud metadata endpoints and exfiltrate resolved vault secrets and environment variables.

Affected Products

Apache Camel versions 4.17.0 through 4.18.2
Apache Camel versions 4.19.0 through 4.20.x
Apache Camel camel-iggy component in affected release streams

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-06 - CVE-2026-55994 published to NVD
2026-07-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-55994

Vulnerability Analysis

The camel-iggy consumer bridges messages from Apache Iggy streams into Camel routes. The IggyFetchRecords implementation copies message user-headers straight into the Exchange without filtering the Camel header namespace. Any producer downstream of the consumer treats these headers as trusted control data.

When a route pipes an Iggy consumer into an HTTP producer, the producer honors CamelHttpUri (mapped from Exchange.HTTP_URI) to determine the request target. An attacker who supplies this header as a message user-header rewrites the outbound URI at runtime. The HTTP producer then resolves Camel property placeholders inside the attacker-supplied URI, expanding references such as ${env:SECRET}, application properties, or vault lookups before issuing the request. The resolved secrets travel to the attacker-controlled endpoint as part of the URL. This flaw is classified as improper input validation [CWE-20].

Root Cause

The consumer lacks a HeaderFilterStrategy on inbound mapping. Nothing blocks headers prefixed with Camel* or camel* from entering the Exchange, so externally-supplied control headers become indistinguishable from route-internal state.

Attack Vector

The attacker requires publish access to an Iggy stream or topic that a vulnerable Camel route consumes. The attacker crafts a message carrying a CamelHttpUri user-header pointing to an internal address, a cloud metadata endpoint such as http://169.254.169.254/, or an external collector URL containing placeholder references. When the route forwards the message to an HTTP producer, the server issues the attacker-directed request and leaks resolved placeholder values.

See the Apache Camel CVE-2026-55994 Advisory for full technical details on the exploitation path.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-55994

Indicators of Compromise

Outbound HTTP requests from Camel workloads to unexpected internal IP ranges or link-local metadata addresses such as 169.254.169.254.
Iggy messages containing user-headers prefixed with Camel or camel, particularly CamelHttpUri, CamelHttpQuery, or CamelHttpMethod.
HTTP producer requests whose target URI contains resolved secret values or vault references in the query string or path.

Detection Strategies

Inspect Iggy broker audit logs for producer clients publishing messages with Camel-namespace user-headers.
Correlate Camel route access logs with egress proxy logs to identify HTTP producer requests whose destination diverges from the route's configured endpoint URI.
Alert on outbound requests from Camel hosts to instance metadata endpoints, private RFC1918 ranges not previously contacted, or newly registered domains.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on the camel-iggy consumer and capture the pre-mapped header set for offline analysis.
Instrument HTTP producers to log the fully resolved URI at request time and flag deviations from the route's static endpoint configuration.
Monitor secret-management systems for lookups originating from Camel workloads that do not match expected application flows.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-55994

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Apache Camel to 4.21.0 on the 4.19+ stream, or to 4.18.3 on the 4.18.x stream.
Audit all Camel routes that consume from camel-iggy and feed data into any HTTP, HTTP4, or Netty HTTP producer.
Rotate any credentials, tokens, or vault-backed secrets referenced by property placeholders in HTTP producer URIs on affected deployments.

Patch Information

Apache Camel 4.21.0 and 4.18.3 introduce a dedicated IggyHeaderFilterStrategy and a headerFilterStrategy endpoint option. The filter drops headers matching the Camel* and camel* namespaces case-insensitively during inbound mapping, so externally-supplied control headers no longer enter the Exchange. Refer to the Apache Camel CVE-2026-55994 Advisory for release details.

Workarounds

Strip Camel control headers at the start of every route by calling removeHeaders('Camel*') and removeHeaders('camel*') immediately after the Iggy consumer.
Restrict publish permissions on consumed Iggy streams and topics to trusted producers only.
Avoid piping an untrusted Iggy consumer directly into an HTTP producer whose target URI can be driven from message headers; use a static, hardcoded endpoint URI instead.

bash

# Example Camel route mitigation (Java DSL)
from("iggy:stream/topic")
    .removeHeaders("Camel*")
    .removeHeaders("camel*")
    .to("http://static-internal-service/api");