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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-21343

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2021-03-23
  • Fixed in1.4.16
  • WeaknessCWE-502 · CWE-73

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

XStream is a Java library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In XStream before version 1.4.16, there is a vulnerability where the processed stream at unmarshalling time contains type information to recreate the formerly written objects. XStream creates therefore new instances based on these type information. An attacker can manipulate the processed input stream and replace or inject objects, that result in the deletion of a file on the local host. No user is affected, who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's security framework with a whitelist limited to the minimal required types. If you rely on XStream's default blacklist of the Security Framework, you will have to use at least version 1.4.16.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-03-2300:15CVE publishedNVD

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Xstream
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.4< 1.4.161.4.16
Apache activemq
BranchAffectedFixed in
5.15< 5.15.145.15.14
5.16= 5.16.0no fix published
5.16= 5.16.1no fix published
5.16≥ 5.16.0, ≤ 5.16.0no fix published
5.16≥ 5.16.1, ≤ 5.16.1no fix published
Oracle communications unified inventory management
BranchAffectedFixed in
7.3= 7.3.2no fix published
7.3= 7.3.4no fix published
7.3= 7.3.5no fix published
7.4= 7.4.0no fix published
7.4= 7.4.1no fix published

12 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • hadoop-fips-3.3.6Chainguardall versions · no fixed version listedand 1 other package
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.8-1ubuntu0.1+esm3
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:Pro:14.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.7-1ubuntu0.1+esm2
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:20.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11.1-1ubuntu0.2
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:18.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11.1-1~18.04.2
  • libxstream-javaDebian:14all versions · fixed in 1.4.15-2
  • libxstream-javaDebian:13all versions · fixed in 1.4.15-2
  • libxstream-javaDebian:12all versions · fixed in 1.4.15-2

10 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2021-21343 Red Hat Product Security6 products fixed · 14 known affected

    XStream: arbitrary file deletion on the local host via crafted input stream

    xstream as a component of Red Hat BPM Suite 6 · xstream as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 · xstream-javadoc as a component of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 · +11 more

  • RHSA-2021:5134 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Fuse 7.10.0 release and security update

  • RHSA-2021:4918 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Integration Camel-K 1.6 release and security update

  • RHSA-2021:4767 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Integration Camel Extensions for Quarkus GA security update

  • RHSA-2021:2476 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Decision Manager 7.11.0 security update

  • RHSA-2021:2475 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.11.0 security update

1 more advisory

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Xstream to 1.4.16
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2021:5134 · 1 productBefore applying the update, back up your existing installation, including all applications, configuration files, databases and database settings, and so on. Installation instructions are available from the Fuse 7.10.0 product documentation page: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_ha…
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2021:4918 · 1 productBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied. For details on how to apply this update, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  4. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2021:2476 · 1 productFor on-premise installations, before applying the update, back up your existing installation, including all applications, configuration files, databases and database settings, and so on. It is recommended to halt the server by stopping the JBoss Application Server process before installing this up…
  5. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2021:2139 · 1 productRefer to the Data Grid 8.2 Upgrade Guide for instructions on upgrading to this version. The References section of this erratum contains a download link (you must log in to download the update).
  6. No fix available, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-21343 · 2 productsAffected
  7. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-21343 · 12 productsOut of support scope

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2026-10-07
  • CNACVSS 3.15.3known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.05read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-502, CWE-73known since 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score46.7 %read 2026-11-09
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryMODERATE2021-03-22

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Published
2021-03-23
Last Modified
2026-10-07
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-74cv-f58x-f9wf

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-21343?

XStream is a Java library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In XStream before version 1.4.16, there is a vulnerability where the processed stream at unmarshalling time contains type information to recreate the formerly written objects. XStream creates therefore new instances based on these type information. An attacker can manipulate the processed input stream and replace or inject objects, that result in the deletion of a file on the local host. No user is affected, who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's security framework with a whitelist limited to the minimal required types. If you rely on XStream's default blacklist of the Security Framework, you will have to use at least version 1.4.16.

Is CVE-2021-21343 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-21343 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 46.7% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-21343?

CVE-2021-21343 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

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Sources for this record