Denial of Service by injecting highly recursive collections or maps in XStream
Priority HIGH 72CWE-400Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service, Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 16 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-400 and CWE-502.
Summary
XStream is an open source java library to serialize objects to XML and back again. Versions prior to 1.4.19 may allow a remote attacker to allocate 100% CPU time on the target system depending on CPU type or parallel execution of such a payload resulting in a denial of service only by manipulating the processed input stream. XStream 1.4.19 monitors and accumulates the time it takes to add elements to collections and throws an exception if a set threshold is exceeded. Users are advised to upgrade as soon as possible. Users unable to upgrade may set the NO_REFERENCE mode to prevent recursion. See GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf for further details on a workaround if an upgrade is not possible.
Why it matters now
Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.07934 94th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 2 exploit referencesTagged by NVD
Fix Partial xstream (x-stream): 1.4.19com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (Maven): 1.4.19Red Hat: 3 advisoriesRed Hat: 3 fixed, 16 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XStream | xstream | before 1.4.19 | 1.4.19 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (Maven) | before 1.4.19 | 1.4.19 | Patch available | GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf |
- xstream VendorXStream Affected before 1.4.19 Fixed in 1.4.19 Patch available CNA
- com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (Maven) Vendor— Affected before 1.4.19 Fixed in 1.4.19 Patch available GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf
CPE configurations NVD · 17
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:jenkins:jenkins:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 2.319.3; 2.321 to before 2.334 | Vulnerable | Jenkins |
| cpe:2.3:a:xstream:xstream:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 1.4.19 | Vulnerable | XStream |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 34 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 35 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:commerce_guided_search:11.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.3.2 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_brm_-_elastic_charging_engine:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 12.0.0.4.6 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_brm_-_elastic_charging_engine:12.0.0.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.0.0.5.0 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_automated_test_suite:1.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 1.9.0 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_intelligence_hub:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0.0 – 8.1.0; 8.2.0 – 8.2.6 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
- cpe:2.3:a:jenkins:jenkins:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 2.319.3; 2.321 to before 2.334 Vulnerable ·Jenkins
- cpe:2.3:a:xstream:xstream:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.4.19 Vulnerable ·XStream
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 34 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:35:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 35 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:commerce_guided_search:11.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.3.2 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_brm_-_elastic_charging_engine:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 12.0.0.4.6 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_brm_-_elastic_charging_engine:12.0.0.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.0.0.5.0 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_automated_test_suite:1.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 1.9.0 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_intelligence_hub:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0.0 – 8.1.0; 8.2.0 – 8.2.6 Vulnerable ·Oracle
Show 7 more CPE
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_policy_management:12.6.0.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.6.0.0.0 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_private_banking:12.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.1.0 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:16.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 16.0.6 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:17.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 17.0.4 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:18.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 18.0.3 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:19.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 19.0.2 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
| cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:20.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 20.0.1 | Vulnerable | Oracle |
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_policy_management:12.6.0.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.6.0.0.0 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_private_banking:12.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.1.0 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:16.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 16.0.6 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:17.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 17.0.4 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:18.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 18.0.3 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:19.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 19.0.2 Vulnerable ·Oracle
- cpe:2.3:a:oracle:retail_xstore_point_of_service:20.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 20.0.1 Vulnerable ·Oracle
Remediation
- Fix · CNA xstream (x-stream) Fixed in 1.4.19
- Fix · GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (Maven) Fixed in 1.4.19 Advisory →
Red Hat 3 advisories
- RHSA-2022:5606 Released 2022-07-19 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Integration Camel Extensions for Quarkus 2.7 security update
- RHINT Camel-Q 2.7
- RHSA-2022:5532 Released 2022-07-07 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Fuse 7.11.0 release and security update
- Red Hat Fuse 7.11
- RHSA-2022:1420 Released 2022-04-27 · Red Hat rating ImportantOpenShift Container Platform 3.11.685 security and bug fix update
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 jenkins-2-plugins-3.11.1650371376-1.el7, jenkins-2.319.3.1650348949-1.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat BPM Suite 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Data Grid 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Decision Manager 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Integration Camel K 1 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Integration Camel Quarkus 1 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat JBoss A-MQ 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss BRMS 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Fuse Service Works 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss SOA Platform 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Process Automation 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| RHINT Camel-Q 2.7 | Fixed | RHSA-2022:5606 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.11 | Fixed | RHSA-2022:5532 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11 | Fixed | RHSA-2022:1420 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 3.11
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-43859
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf
References
Exploit 2
Patch 3
Advisory 5
Other 6
- https://github.com/x-stream/xstream
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/12/msg00023.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/VACQYG356OHUTD5WQGAQ4L2TTFTAV3SJ
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XODFRE2ZL64FICBJDOPWOLPTSSAI4U7X
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/VACQYG356OHUTD5WQGAQ4L2TTFTAV3SJ
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/XODFRE2ZL64FICBJDOPWOLPTSSAI4U7X
More Xstream vulnerabilities
- TI-2021-16530 XStream is vulnerable to a Remote Command Execution attack KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.5
- TI-2013-05951 Xstream API versions up to 1.4.6 and version 1.4.10, if the security framework has not… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-04451 XStream is vulnerable to an Arbitrary Code Execution attack CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2021-04446 XStream is vulnerable to an Arbitrary Code Execution attack CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-04444 XStream is vulnerable to an Arbitrary Code Execution attack CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-16038 Remote Code Execution in XStream CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2021-43859 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-43859 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-43859 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences