CVE-2021-22569 Denial of Service of protobuf-java parsing procedure
Attackers can cause denial of service in protobuf-java by sending malicious payloads that trigger excessive object creation and parser pauses.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2021-22569?
CVE-2021-22569 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Policy, published on 7 Jan 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official 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.
Weakness: CWE-696
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22569?
12 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java, com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin and google-protobuf. It affects 7 products.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | All versions | 3.16.1 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | All versions | 3.16.1 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | From 3.18.0 | 3.18.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | From 3.18.0 | 3.18.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | From 3.19.0 | 3.19.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java Maven | From 3.19.0 | 3.19.2 |
6 more packages
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin Maven | From 3.18.0 | 3.18.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin Maven | From 3.18.0 | 3.18.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin Maven | From 3.19.0 | 3.19.2 |
com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin Maven | From 3.19.0 | 3.19.2 |
google-protobuf RubyGems | All versions | 3.19.2 |
google-protobuf RubyGems | All versions | 3.19.2 |
Products include Google Google-Protobuf, Google Protobuf-Java, Google Protobuf-Kotlin, Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Console, Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Repository Function, Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Policy and 1 more.
How do I fix CVE-2021-22569?
Upgrade com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java to a fixed version for your release line: 3.16.1, 3.18.2 or 3.19.2.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2021-22569 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-22569 exists.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Sources
Also known as AZL-41431, CLEANSTART-2026-QW16361, CLEANSTART-2026-UR58477, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-22569, ECHO-7e09-bb97-24cf, GHSA-wrvw-hg22-4m67 and 8 more.