CVE-2026-35554
Apache Kafka Clients: Kafka Producer Message Corruption and Misrouting via Buffer Pool Race Condition
Description
A race condition in the Apache Kafka Java producer client’s buffer pool management can cause messages to be silently delivered to incorrect topics. When a produce batch expires due to delivery.timeout.ms while a network request containing that batch is still in flight, the batch’s ByteBuffer is prematurely deallocated and returned to the buffer pool. If a subsequent producer batch—potentially destined for a different topic—reuses this freed buffer before the original network request completes, the buffer contents may become corrupted. This can result in messages being delivered to unintended topics without any error being reported to the producer. Data Confidentiality: Messages intended for one topic may be delivered to a different topic, potentially exposing sensitive data to consumers who have access to the destination topic but not the intended source topic. Data Integrity: Consumers on the receiving topic may encounter unexpected or incompatible messages, leading to deserialization failures, processing errors, and corrupted downstream data. This issue affects Apache Kafka versions ≤ 3.9.1, ≤ 4.0.1, and ≤ 4.1.1. Kafka users are advised to upgrade to 3.9.2, 4.0.2, 4.1.2, 4.2.0, or later to address this vulnerability.
INFO
Published Date :
April 7, 2026, 2:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 26, 2026, 9:10 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
Solution
- Upgrade Apache Kafka to a patched version.
- Ensure producer client uses updated buffer management.
- Monitor message delivery to confirm resolution.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2026-35554 has a 1 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-35554.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/KAFKA-19012 | Issue Tracking |
| https://lists.apache.org/thread/f07x7j8ovyqhjd1to25jsnqbm6wj01d6 | Vendor Advisory |
| http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/07/6 | Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-35554 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-35554
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Generate logs from templates, or get logs from files, Elasticsearch or Kafka. Change the logs on the fly to create new, events and finally send the logs to console, file, Elasticsearch, Kafka, UDP or TCP
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Java
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-35554 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-35554 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Translated by [email protected]
Oct. 26, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Translation Title: Apache Kafka Clients de Apache Software Foundation, Description: Una condición de carrera en la gestión del pool de búferes del cliente productor Java de Apache Kafka puede causar que los mensajes sean entregados silenciosamente a temas incorrectos. Cuando un lote de producción expira debido a delivery.timeout.ms mientras una solicitud de red que contiene ese lote todavía está en vuelo, el ByteBuffer del lote es desasignado prematuramente y devuelto al pool de búferes. Si un lote de productor subsiguiente -potencialmente destinado a un tema diferente- reutiliza este búfer liberado antes de que la solicitud de red original se complete, el contenido del búfer puede corromperse. Esto puede resultar en que los mensajes sean entregados a temas no deseados sin que se informe ningún error al productor. Confidencialidad de los datos: Los mensajes destinados a un tema pueden ser entregados a un tema diferente, exponiendo potencialmente datos sensibles a consumidores que tienen acceso al tema de destino pero no al tema de origen previsto. Integridad de los datos: Los consumidores en el tema receptor pueden encontrar mensajes inesperados o incompatibles, lo que lleva a fallos de deserialización, errores de procesamiento y datos descendentes corruptos. Este problema afecta a las versiones de Apache Kafka ? 3.9.1, ? 4.0.1 y ? 4.1.1. Se aconseja a los usuarios de Kafka que actualicen a 3.9.2, 4.0.2, 4.1.2, 4.2.0, o posterior para abordar esta vulnerabilidad. -
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Aug. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:apache:kafka:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 4.1.0 up to (excluding) 4.1.2 *cpe:2.3:a:apache:kafka:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.8.0 up to (excluding) 3.9.2 *cpe:2.3:a:apache:kafka:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 4.0.0 up to (excluding) 4.0.2 Added Reference Type Apache Software Foundation: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/KAFKA-19012 Types: Issue Tracking Added Reference Type Apache Software Foundation: https://lists.apache.org/thread/f07x7j8ovyqhjd1to25jsnqbm6wj01d6 Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type CVE: http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/07/6 Types: Mailing List, Third Party Advisory -
CVE Modified by [email protected]
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'Apache Software Foundation', 'product': 'Apache Kafka Clients', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.8.0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '3.9.1'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '4.0.0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '4.0.1'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '4.1.0', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '4.1.1'}], 'packageName': 'org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients', 'collectionURL': 'https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2', 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-35554', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-04-07T13:57:17.254124Z'} -
CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Apr. 07, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/07/6 -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Apr. 07, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 07, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description A race condition in the Apache Kafka Java producer client’s buffer pool management can cause messages to be silently delivered to incorrect topics. When a produce batch expires due to delivery.timeout.ms while a network request containing that batch is still in flight, the batch’s ByteBuffer is prematurely deallocated and returned to the buffer pool. If a subsequent producer batch—potentially destined for a different topic—reuses this freed buffer before the original network request completes, the buffer contents may become corrupted. This can result in messages being delivered to unintended topics without any error being reported to the producer. Data Confidentiality: Messages intended for one topic may be delivered to a different topic, potentially exposing sensitive data to consumers who have access to the destination topic but not the intended source topic. Data Integrity: Consumers on the receiving topic may encounter unexpected or incompatible messages, leading to deserialization failures, processing errors, and corrupted downstream data. This issue affects Apache Kafka versions ≤ 3.9.1, ≤ 4.0.1, and ≤ 4.1.1. Kafka users are advised to upgrade to 3.9.2, 4.0.2, 4.1.2, 4.2.0, or later to address this vulnerability. Added CWE CWE-362 Added CWE CWE-416 Added Reference https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/KAFKA-19012 Added Reference https://lists.apache.org/thread/f07x7j8ovyqhjd1to25jsnqbm6wj01d6