Vulnerability · Published Feb 1, 2022 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2021-43859Denial of Service by injecting highly recursive collections or maps in XStream
High 7.5
In plain English
A high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption in xstream from x-stream. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 7.9% (higher than 95% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
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.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | libxstream-java | 1.4.19-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Debian:13 | libxstream-java | 1.4.19-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Debian:14 | libxstream-java | 1.4.19-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Maven | com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream | 1.4.19 | GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | libxstream-java | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | libxstream-java | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | libxstream-java | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Ubuntu:26.04:LTS | libxstream-java | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-43859 |
| Ubuntu:26.10 | libxstream-java | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2021-43859 |
Affected products (as reported)
Weakness: CWE-400 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
References
- https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-rmr5-cpv2-vgjf x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/commit/e8e88621ba1c85ac3b8620337dd672e0c0c3a846 x_refsource_MISC
- https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2021-43859.html x_refsource_MISC
- [oss-security] 20220209 Vulnerability in Jenkins mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- FEDORA-2022-ad5cf1c0dd vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- FEDORA-2022-983a78275c vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- [debian-lts-announce] 20220215 [SECURITY] [DLA 2924-1] libxstream-java security update mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html x_refsource_MISC
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/12/msg00023.html