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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2021-22569

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2022-01-10
  • Fixed in3.19.2 · 3.18.2 · 3.16.1
  • WeaknessCWE-696

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

An issue in protobuf-java allowed the interleaving of com.google.protobuf.UnknownFieldSet fields in such a way that would be processed out of order. A small malicious payload can occupy the parser for several minutes by creating large numbers of short-lived objects that cause frequent, repeated pauses. We recommend upgrading libraries beyond the vulnerable versions.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2022-01-1014:10CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-22569?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-22569?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Google google-protobuf
BranchAffectedFixed in
3.19< 3.19.23.19.2
3.19≥ 3.19.0, < 3.19.23.19.2
3.18≥ 3.18.0, < 3.18.23.18.2
3.16< 3.16.13.16.1
Google protobuf-java
BranchAffectedFixed in
3.19≥ 3.19.0, < 3.19.23.19.2
3.18≥ 3.18.0, < 3.18.23.18.2
3.16< 3.16.13.16.1
Google protobuf-kotlin
BranchAffectedFixed in
3.19≥ 3.19.0, < 3.19.23.19.2
3.18< 3.18.23.18.2

4 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.

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2021-22569 Red Hat Product Security7 products fixed · 20 known affected

    protobuf-java: potential DoS in the parsing procedure for binary data

    openshift-logging/elasticsearch6-rhel8 as a component of Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift · protobuf-java as a component of Red Hat BPM Suite 6 · protobuf-java as a component of Red Hat build of Debezium 1 · +17 more

  • RHSA-2022:8761 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat support for Spring Boot 2.7.2 update

  • RHSA-2022:7896 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Integration Debezium 1.9.7 security update

  • RHSA-2022:6835 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Service Registry (container images) release and security update [2.3.0.GA]

  • RHSA-2022:5903 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.13.0 security update

  • RHSA-2022:5532 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Fuse 7.11.0 release and security update

2 more advisories

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Google google-protobuf to 3.19.2 · 3.18.2 · 3.16.1
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:8761 · 1 productBefore applying the update, back up your existing installation, including all applications, configuration files, databases and database settings, and so on. The References section of this erratum contains a download link for the update. You must be logged in to download the update.
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:7896 · 1 productTo apply this update just follow standard installation procedure https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_integration/2022.q4/html/installing_debezium_on_openshift/index https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_integration/2022.q4/html/installing_debezium_on_rhel/index
  4. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:6835 · 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
  5. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:5903 · 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…
  6. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:5532 · 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 7.11.0 product documentation page: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_ha…
  7. No fix available, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-22569 · 3 productsFix deferred

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedMario-Kart-Felix/A-potential-Denial-of-Service-issue-in-protobuf-java
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionpoc2025-04-21
  • OpenCVESSVC decisionpoc—
  • CNACVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.15.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.04.3read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-696read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.7 %2026-10-23
  • PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept1read 2026-10-23
  • OSVaffected packages—

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Published
2022-01-10
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-22569?

An issue in protobuf-java allowed the interleaving of com.google.protobuf.UnknownFieldSet fields in such a way that would be processed out of order. A small malicious payload can occupy the parser for several minutes by creating large numbers of short-lived objects that cause frequent, repeated pauses. We recommend upgrading libraries beyond the vulnerable versions.

Is CVE-2021-22569 actively exploited?

A proof-of-concept exploit exists for CVE-2021-22569, but active exploitation has not been confirmed at this time.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-22569?

CVE-2021-22569 has a CVSS v3 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

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