External risk intelligence

Azul Payara Admin Interface Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.3)

CVE-2026-110003

The vulnerability resides in an administration REST interface of a web application server. Such administrative interfaces are commonly exposed to the network to facilitate remote management and operations, making them plausible and often intended targets for internet-based access in many enterprise deployment patterns.

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in the administrative interface of Azul Payara software, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass security controls and execute arbitrary commands. This could lead to a full compromise of affected servers.

Unauthenticated attackers can gain full server control.
Impacts administrative interfaces often exposed remotely.
Confirm relevance and exposure in your environment.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker can remotely access the administration REST interface without needing any credentials. By manipulating a specific HTTP header, the attacker can bypass initial security checks and then leverage default configurations with empty passwords to gain full administrative control, leading to the execution of arbitrary commands on the server.

Remote, unauthenticated access required.
Bypasses security checks via HTTP header.
Full server compromise via command execution.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

A remote, unauthenticated attacker could gain full control of the server when the administration REST interface is accessible over the network and default administrative credentials or weak authentication practices are in use. This could occur by exploiting a flaw in how HTTP headers are processed to bypass access restrictions, leading to the execution of arbitrary commands.

Server administrative commands could be executed.
An attacker could bypass authentication checks.
Complete server compromise is a realistic consequence.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This critical vulnerability in Azul Payara's administration interface requires immediate attention from teams responsible for the application's infrastructure and security. The first step is to identify all instances of the affected technology, determine their exposure and business criticality, and locate the accountable asset owner to prioritize remediation efforts.

Application owners and infrastructure teams.
Verify administrative interface exposure and reachability.
Plan risk-based remediation and vendor coordination.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Azul Payara?

Azul Payara is a Jakarta EE application server designed to host and manage enterprise Java applications. It provides the runtime environment for complex web services, handling everything from transaction management to data persistence. It is widely used in corporate backends to run critical business logic, relying on an administration REST interface that developers and administrators use to monitor and configure the server's behavior remotely.

How does CVE-2026-110003 cause an authentication bypass?

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-288, which involves authentication bypass by assuming that an actor is already authenticated. In Azul Payara, the administrative interface incorrectly processes a specific HTTP header. By including this header, an attacker skips the initial security gate. If the server is using default settings—specifically an empty administrative password—the system fails to perform a secondary check, effectively granting the attacker full command execution rights.

What triggers the CVE-2026-110003 vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this flaw by sending a crafted HTTP request to the administration REST interface containing the X-GlassFish-authToken header. The bug relies on this header to trick the server into ignoring remote-access restrictions. Notably, the vulnerability does not trigger if the administrative interface is properly secured with a strong, non-default password, as the flaw specifically relies on the fall-through to default, empty-password configurations.

Is my server at risk from this Azul Payara flaw?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this vulnerability is highly relevant if your administration REST interface is reachable over a network. Because these interfaces are frequently exposed to facilitate remote management, they are common targets. You are at increased risk if your Azul Payara instances are accessible from the internet or other untrusted segments, particularly if you have not manually changed the default administrative credentials.

How do I respond to this Azul Payara threat?

Begin by identifying all Azul Payara installations within your infrastructure to determine which are reachable over your network. Prioritize servers where the administrative REST interface is accessible. Consult the vendor documentation for guidance on securing these interfaces and ensuring strong authentication is enforced. Engage your application owners to confirm that administrative access is restricted and that default passwords have been replaced.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.