# Remediation Handoff: CVE-2026-66142

## Summary

NVD: Apache Neethi is vulnerable to uncontrolled recursion when parsing policies that lack policy Ids or with deeply nested structures, which may lead to a denial of service attack when parsing policies due to runtime memory exhaustion. NVD: Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.3, which fixes this issue. OSV: Apache Neethi: Uncontrolled recursion in policy processing

## Why it matters

CVSS severity is HIGH with score 7.5. EPSS percentile is 0.3872. KEV status is not listed in KEV. Use this as a defensive priority handoff, not as an execution instruction.

## Affected context

* Vendor: apache
* Product: neethi
* Component: unknown
* Version / CPE / PURL: unknown

## Remediation context

* Recommended route: vendor_patch_or_mitigation
* Vendor/advisory reference: official_reference_present
* Patch status: confirmed
* Fixed version: version
* References: http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/07/24/8, https://lists.apache.org/thread/fomwtwt4pzzhxn4fyn3skykto913vfzt

## Human checklist

* Confirm whether the listed product or package is present.
* Confirm affected version.
* Review vendor advisory or official source.
* Confirm patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision.
* Confirm exposure.
* Document remediation status.

## Safe AI / Codex handoff

* Goal: Prepare a defensive remediation plan for CVE-2026-66142 using only provided public-safe source context and any separate repo context supplied by the user.
* Allowed actions: summarize vendor guidance, prepare a defensive remediation plan, identify affected dependencies only when repo context is separately provided by the user, suggest tests and validation steps, document human verification questions
* Disallowed actions: generate offensive code, provide payloads, scan external targets, change production systems, merge or deploy changes, create GitHub issues or pull requests without explicit separate approval
* Acceptance criteria: Affected product or dependency presence is confirmed by a human., Affected version is confirmed or marked not applicable., Official advisory or source reference is reviewed., Patch, fixed version, mitigation, workaround, or monitor-only decision is documented., Validation steps are proposed without external scanning or production mutation.
* Human approval required: true

## Safety note

This handoff is for defensive triage and remediation planning only. It excludes offensive procedure, payload material, external target scan guidance, and auto-remediation.