CVE-2026-41731 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-41731
Vulnerability Scoring

8.1
/10
Severe Risk

Cybersecurity professionals consider CVE-2026-41731 an immediate threat requiring urgent mitigation.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: High
    Exploits require significant effort and special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-41731 Details

Status: Analyzed

Last updated: 🕧 22 Jun 2026, 12:58 UTC
Originally published on: 🕛 10 Jun 2026, 00:16 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 12 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security@vmware.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2026-41731 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-41731: JsonKafkaHeaderMapper and the deprecated DefaultKafkaHeaderMapper matched type headers against trusted packages using a prefix check, meaning that trusting any package implicitly trusted all of its subpackages. Combined with Jackson's default bean deserialization, a producer could supply crafted header values that caused the consumer to deserialize arbitrary JDK types. Affected versions: Spring for Apache Kafka 4.0.0 through 4.0.5; 3.3.0 through 3.3.15; 3.2.0 through 3.2.13; 2.9.0 through 2.9.13; 2.8.0 through 2.8.11.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-41731

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-41731 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-41731

CVE-2026-41731 presents a challenge to exploit due to its high attack complexity, but the absence of privilege requirements still makes it a viable target for skilled attackers. A thorough security review is advised.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-41731, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-41731, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2026-41731 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2026-41731 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2026-41731 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

CVE-2026-41731 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-502

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Object Injection CAPEC-586 An adversary attempts to exploit an application by injecting additional, malicious content during its processing of serialized objects. Developers leverage serialization in order to convert data or state into a static, binary format for saving to disk or transferring over a network. These objects are then deserialized when needed to recover the data/state. By injecting a malformed object into a vulnerable application, an adversary can potentially compromise the application by manipulating the deserialization process. This can result in a number of unwanted outcomes, including remote code execution.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.2.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.3.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.0:milestone5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:4.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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