Is CVE-2026-41081 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2026-41081 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2026-41081 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2026-41081 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-41081?

CVE-2026-41081 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-41081

MEDIUM

CVE-2026-41081

CWE-287Published: April 27, 2026· Updated: Apr 28, 2026

6.5

CVSS v3.1

EPSS:0.09%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:25.7th

Official Description

Improper Handling of TLS Client Authentication Failure Leading to Anonymous Principal Assignment in Apache Storm

Versions Affected: up to 2.8.7

Description: When TLS transport is enabled in Apache Storm without requiring client certificate authentication (the default configuration), the TlsTransportPlugin assigns a fallback principal (CN=ANONYMOUS) if no client certificate is presented or if certificate verification fails. The underlying SSLPeerUnverifiedException is caught and suppressed rather than rejecting the connection.

This fail-open behavior means an unauthenticated client can establish a TLS connection and receive a valid principal identity. If the configured authorizer (e.g., SimpleACLAuthorizer) does not explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS, this may result in unauthorized access to Storm services. The condition is logged at debug level only, reducing visibility in production.

Impact: Unauthenticated clients may be assigned a principal identity, potentially bypassing authorization in permissive or misconfigured environments.

Mitigation: Users should upgrade to 2.8.7 in which TLS authentication failures are handled in a fail-closed manner.

Users who cannot upgrade immediately should:

- Enable mandatory client certificate authentication (nimbus.thrift.tls.client.auth.required: true)

- Ensure authorization rules explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS

- Review all ACL configurations for implicit default-allow behavior

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-41081 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-287): Authentication bypass vulnerabilities allow attackers to access protected resources without valid credentials.