Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "CVE-2026-22886 is a critical vulnerability in the Eclipse OpenMQ project's TCP-based management service called imqbrokerd. This service requires authentication but ships with a default administrative account using the credentials admin/admin."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'The system does not enforce a mandatory password change upon first login, and after the initial access, it continues to accept the default password indefinitely without any warning or enforcement.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'In real-world deployments, this default credential is often left unchanged, allowing remote attackers with access to the service port to authenticate as administrators and gain full control over the protocol’s administrative features.'}] [1]

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows a remote attacker with access to the TCP management service port to authenticate as an administrator using default credentials.

Once authenticated, the attacker gains full control over the protocol’s administrative features, which can lead to unauthorized configuration changes, disruption of service, or exploitation of other authenticated-only vulnerabilities within the same protocol.

The vulnerability has a high severity with a CVSS score of 9.8, indicating it can cause significant confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability can be detected by checking if the OpenMQ TCP-based management service (imqbrokerd) is running and accessible on your network, and then attempting to authenticate using the default administrative credentials (admin/admin). If authentication succeeds without requiring a password change, the system is vulnerable.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'A practical approach is to scan for the service port used by imqbrokerd and then attempt a login using the default credentials.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Use a network scanning tool like nmap to identify if the imqbrokerd service port is open.'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': "Attempt to authenticate to the service using a client or script with the username 'admin' and password 'admin'."}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Example command to scan for open ports (replace <host> and <port> accordingly): nmap -p <port> <host>'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'If a client tool for OpenMQ management is available, use it to attempt login with default credentials.'}] [1]

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Mitigation Strategies

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "Immediate mitigation steps include changing the default administrative password from 'admin' to a strong, unique password as soon as possible."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, if the management service (imqbrokerd) is not required, consider disabling it to reduce the attack surface.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Ensure that access to the service port is restricted via network controls such as firewalls or access control lists to limit exposure to trusted hosts only.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Regularly audit and monitor authentication logs for any unauthorized access attempts.'}] [1]

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