CVE-2021-39144
XStream Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 31 March 2023). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
XStream is a simple library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In affected versions this vulnerability may allow a remote attacker has sufficient rights to execute commands of the 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.
- CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 98.12% probability · 100th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Listed 10 March 2023 · due 31 March 2023
- Weakness
- CWE-94, CWE-502, CWE-306
- Affected
- xstream/xstream · debian/debian linux · fedoraproject/fedora · netapp/snapmanager · oracle/business activity monitoring · oracle/commerce guided search · oracle/communications billing and revenue management elastic charging engine · oracle/communications cloud native core automated test suite · oracle/communications cloud native core binding support function · oracle/communications cloud native core policy · oracle/communications unified inventory management · oracle/retail xstore point of service · oracle/utilities framework · oracle/utilities testing accelerator · oracle/webcenter portal
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 98.1% since 30 October 2026; no change recorded yet. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
CISA notes
Apply updates per vendor instructions. https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2022-0027.html, https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2021-39144.html; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39144
References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/169859/VMware-NSX-Manager-XStream-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-j9h8-phrw-h4fhVendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/09/msg00017.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/22KVR6B5IZP3BGQ3HPWIO2FWWCKT3DHP/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PVPHZA7VW2RRSDCOIPP2W6O5ND254TU7/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGXIU3YDPG6OGTDHMBLAFN7BPBERXREB/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210923-0003/Third Party Advisory
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5004Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2021-39144.htmlExploit, Vendor Advisory
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/169859/VMware-NSX-Manager-XStream-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlExploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-j9h8-phrw-h4fhVendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/09/msg00017.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/22KVR6B5IZP3BGQ3HPWIO2FWWCKT3DHP/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PVPHZA7VW2RRSDCOIPP2W6O5ND254TU7/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGXIU3YDPG6OGTDHMBLAFN7BPBERXREB/Broken Link, Mailing List, Release Notes
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210923-0003/Third Party Advisory
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5004Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlPatch, Third Party Advisory
- https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2021-39144.htmlExploit, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-39144US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.