c3p0 exposes a deserialization "sink" via JDBC DataSource bean properties
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Code execution, Tampering
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-502 and CWE-915.
Summary
c3p0 is a JDBC Connection pooling library. In versions prior to 0.14.0, c3p0 in combination with other libraries, can compose to a "sink" for deserialization gadgets. The JDBC spec's DataSource.getConnection() and ConnectionPoolDataSource.getPooledConnection() match the getXXX() form, so JavaBean libraries treat them as "properties" assumed safe while they actually call into JDBC drivers. Attackers can thus craft malicious DataSource objects whose property lookups invoke vulnerable drivers, then smuggle them in serialized form to where an application deserializes and auto-resolves bean properties — triggering the attack. This requires a susceptible DataSource/ConnectionPoolDataSource and JDBC driver on the CLASSPATH, plus a carrier that auto-looks-up JavaBean properties on = deserialization, most commonly a collection paired with an Apache commons-beanutils Comparator that sorts by bean properties. c3p0 supplied that susceptible DataSource/ConnectionPoolDataSource, which was an essential component of the trigger. This issue has been fixed in version 0.14.0.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| swaldman | c3p0 | before 0.14.0 | 0.14.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | com.mchange:c3p0 (Maven) | before 0.14.0 | 0.14.0 | Patch available | GHSA-w6w4-rjh9-9r58 |
- c3p0 Vendorswaldman Affected before 0.14.0 Fixed in 0.14.0 Patch available CNA
- com.mchange:c3p0 (Maven) Vendor— Affected before 0.14.0 Fixed in 0.14.0 Patch available GHSA-w6w4-rjh9-9r58
Remediation
- Fix · CNA c3p0 (swaldman) Fixed in 0.14.0
- Fix · GHSA-w6w4-rjh9-9r58 com.mchange:c3p0 (Maven) Fixed in 0.14.0 Advisory →
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2026:83612 Released 2026-10-15 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat build of Debezium 3.6.3 release
- Red Hat Build of Debezium 3.6
- RHSA-2026:54622 Released 2026-08-13 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Build of Apache Camel 4.18.3 for Spring Boot release.
- Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.18.3 for Spring Boot 3.5.16
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel - HawtIO 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Build of Debezium 3.6 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83612 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.18.3 for Spring Boot 3.5.16 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:54622 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack
- Red Hat Satellite 6
- streams for Apache Kafka 2
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-55223
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w6w4-rjh9-9r58
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83612 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Red Hat Build of Debezium 3.6 · Red Hat
- 2026-11-03 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More swaldman vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-22181 c3p0 vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via unsafe deserialization of userOverridesAsString property CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-39844 mchange-commons-java contains elements susceptible to abuse via JNDI injection and "deserialization gadgets" CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.1
Sources
- CVE-2026-55223 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-55223 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w6w4-rjh9-9r58 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-55223 · 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