# CVE-2026-91085: Apache Karaf: config:install missing ACL entry allows privilege escalation to admin

> Missing ACL entry for config:install allows low-privilege users to overwrite security files, leading to privilege escalation and potential code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 1 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8g53-m82p-xqf5

## What is CVE-2026-91085?

CVE-2026-91085 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apache Karaf, published on 29 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Apache Karaf's shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.<scope>.cfg). SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity() resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, fails open: ACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH sets passCheck = true. The safety valve for this, karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles, ships commented out in etc/system.properties, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user.

The shipped org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config ACL (assemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml, mirrored into instance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg) has no install entry. It restricts delete to admin, restricts edit/property-*/update on the jmx.acl.*, org.apache.karaf.command.acl.* and org.apache.karaf.service.acl.* PIDs to admin, and allows manager for everything else, but config:install was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the viewer role.

config:install <url> <finalname> fetches url and writes it into ${karaf.etc} as finalname. It calls PathUtils.checkWithin() to block .. traversal outside karaf.etc, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships: users.properties, keys.properties, host.key, and all org.apache.karaf.*.acl.* files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With -o/--override, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL.

Because felix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc} (etc/config.properties), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any .cfg file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart.

By contrast, bundle:install, feature:install and kar:install are all admin-only in their own ACLs, and config:delete is admin in this same ACL, config:install was the outlier.

MitigationAdd install = admin in etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg (create the file is absent), and/or set karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin in etc/system.properties (and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-91085?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Apache Karaf.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-91085?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-91085 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-91085 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-91085 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apache Karaf

- [CVE-2026-91012](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-91012/): Apache Karaf: Path Traversal in Config Service Allows Manager-to-Admin Privilege Escalation (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-91048](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-91048/): Missing authorization in Apache Karaf (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-40145](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40145/): Apache Karaf: JDBC JAAS LDAP injection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-11788](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11788/): XML External Entity Reference in Apache Karaf (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-92142](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-92142/): Apache Karaf: Authorization bypass in JMX MBean lifecycle operations (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-91085 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-91085 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apache Karaf, published on 29 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-91085 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Apache Karaf. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-91085/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-91085/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-91085
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-91085
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-91085

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-91085/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.