#VU54675 Deserialization of Untrusted Data in xstream - CVE-2021-29505

Vulnerability identifier: #VU54675

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 7.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-29505

CWE-ID: CWE-502

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
xstream
Universal components / Libraries / Libraries used by multiple products

Vendor: XStream

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote user to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to insecure input validation when processing serialized data. A remote user can pass specially crafted XML data to the application and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

xstream: 0.2 - 1.4.16

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External links
https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-7chv-rrw6-w6fc
https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/commit/24fac82191292c6ae25f94508d28b9823f83624f
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8ee51debf7fd184b6a6b020dc31df25118b0aa612885f12fbe77f04f@%3Cdev.jmeter.apache.org%3E
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/07/msg00004.html

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote authenticated privileged user via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.