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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2021-39141

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2021-08-23
  • Fixed in1.4.18
  • WeaknessCWE-434 · CWE-502

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 simple library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In affected versions this vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to load and execute arbitrary code from a remote host only by manipulating the processed input stream. No user is affected, who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's security framework with a whitelist limited to the minimal required types. XStream 1.4.18 uses no longer a blacklist by default, since it cannot be secured for general purpose.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-08-2318:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 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-2021-39141?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-39141?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Xstream
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.4< 1.4.181.4.18
Oracle utilities framework
BranchAffectedFixed in
4.2= 4.2.0.2.0no fix published
4.2= 4.2.0.3.0no fix published
4.3= 4.3.0.1.0no fix published
4.3= 4.3.0.6.0no fix published
4.4= 4.4.0.0.0no fix published
4.4= 4.4.0.2.0no fix published
4.4= 4.4.0.3.0no fix published
Oracle communications unified inventory management
BranchAffectedFixed in
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
7.4= 7.4.2no 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.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As GitHub_M, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • x-stream xstream
    Affected
    • = < 1.4.18no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2022-07-25

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

  • com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstreamTuxCare:Mavenfrom 1.4.17 · fixed in 1.4.17-tuxcare.1
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.8-1ubuntu0.1+esm1
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:Pro:14.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.7-1ubuntu0.1+esm1
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:22.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.18-2ubuntu0.1
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:20.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11.1-1ubuntu0.3
  • libxstream-javaUbuntu:18.04:LTSall versions · fixed in 1.4.11.1-1+deb10u4build0.18.04.1
  • libxstream-javaDebian:14all versions · fixed in 1.4.18-1
  • libxstream-javaDebian:13all versions · fixed in 1.4.18-1

19 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2021-39141 Red Hat Product Security17 products fixed · 9 known affected

    xstream: Arbitrary code execution via unsafe deserialization of com.sun.xml.internal.ws.client.sei.*

    xstream as a component of Red Hat BPM Suite 6 · xstream as a component of Red Hat JBoss A-MQ 6 · xstream as a component of Red Hat JBoss BRMS 5 · +6 more

  • RHSA-2022:0520 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Data Grid 8.3.0 security update

  • RHSA-2022:0297 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Decision Manager 7.12.0 security update

  • RHSA-2022:0296 Red Hat Product Security1 product fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Process Automation Manager 7.12.0 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

1 more advisory

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Xstream to 1.4.18
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:0520 · 1 productTo install this update, do the following: 1. Download the Data Grid 8.3.0 Server patch from the customer portal[²]. 2. Back up your existing Data Grid installation. You should back up databases, configuration files, and so on. 3. Install the Data Grid 8.3.0 Server patch. 4. Restart Data Grid to e…
  3. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2022:0297 · 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…
  4. 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
  5. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2021:3956 · 12 productsFor details on how to apply this update, which includes the changes described in this advisory, refer to: https://access.redhat.com/articles/11258
  6. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2021-39141 · 9 productsOut of support scope

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-02 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedzwjjustdoit/Xstream-1.4.17
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2026-10-07
  • OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
  • CNACVSS 3.18.5known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.06read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-434, CWE-502known since 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-434, CWE-502read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score16.1 %read 2026-11-02
  • PoC-in-GitHubproof of concept1read 2026-11-02
  • ProjectDiscoverydetectionread 2026-11-02
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryHIGH2021-08-23

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2021-08-23
Last Modified
2026-10-07
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-g5w6-mrj7-75h2

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-39141?

XStream is a simple library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In affected versions this vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to load and execute arbitrary code from a remote host only by manipulating the processed input stream. No user is affected, who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's security framework with a whitelist limited to the minimal required types. XStream 1.4.18 uses no longer a blacklist by default, since it cannot be secured for general purpose.

Is CVE-2021-39141 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-39141 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 16.1% on 2026-11-03, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-39141?

CVE-2021-39141 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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