This is a concurrency issue that can result in the wrong caller principal being returned from the session context of an EJB that is configured with a RunAs principal. In particular, the org.jboss.as.ejb3.component.EJBComponent class has an incomingRunAsIdentity field. This field is used by the org.jboss.as.ejb3.security.RunAsPrincipalInterceptor to keep track of the current identity prior to switching to a new identity created using the RunAs principal. The exploit consist that the EJBComponent#incomingRunAsIdentity field is currently just a SecurityIdentity. This means in a concurrent environment, where multiple users are repeatedly invoking an EJB that is configured with a RunAs principal, it's possible for the wrong the caller principal to be returned from EJBComponent#getCallerPrincipal. Similarly, it's also possible for EJBComponent#isCallerInRole to return the wrong value. Both of these methods rely on incomingRunAsIdentity. Affects all versions of JBoss EAP from 7.1.0 and all versions of WildFly 11+ when Elytron is enabled.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| redhat / openstack_platform | 13.0 | 13.0.x |
| redhat / jboss_enterprise_application_platform | 7.1.0 | 7.1.0.x |
| redhat / wildfly | 11.0.0 | 26.1.1 |
| redhat / wildfly | 27.0.0-alpha1 | 27.0.0-alpha1.x |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.