What this actually is.
Technical background, root cause, and affected surface.
AwsSecretsManagerKeyLifecycleManager.deserializeMetadata() in camel-pqc Base64-decodes key metadata stored in AWS Secrets Manager and deserializes it with a raw ObjectInputStream.readObject() without an ObjectInputFilter; the cast to KeyMetadata happens only after readObject() returns, so side effects of a crafted object run first. This is the same defect as CVE-2026-46590 and an incomplete-remediation follow-on to CVE-2026-40048 (CAMEL-23200).
- Product
- Apache Camel
- Vendor
- Apache
- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS Score
- 9.8
- Status
- Published
- Vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CWE
- CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
From one request
to root shell.
Reproduced in a sandboxed environment. Requires only LAN or WiFi adjacency.
The bug, and the fix.
camel-pqc: AwsSecretsManagerKeyLifecycleManager.deserializeMetadata() - Base64 decode -> java.io.ObjectInputStream.readObject() with no ObjectInputFilter, cast to KeyMetadata after deserialization
What an attacker does to you.
Post-exploitation outcomes mapped to CVSS impact metrics.
Code execution in the context of the application managing PQC keys
C:H · I:H · A:H
CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Fix it. In this order.
A runbook, not a checklist. Sequence matters — assume compromise before you act.
Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.21.0 (or 4.18.3 on the 4.18.x LTS stream). Until upgraded, restrict write access to the Secrets Manager secret to the application's own identity.
disclose@securin.ioVendors moved in days.
Attackers in hours.
Reconstructed from vendor advisories, CISA bulletins, and Securin research records.
Reported to vendor
Fixed release published (4.21.0 (4.18.3 for 4.18.x))
CVE published to MITRE
Disclosed 60 days after discovery
Cite, verify, go deeper.
Primary sources — NVD, CISA KEV, and machine-readable IoC feed.