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Vulnerability Intelligence

CVE-2021-21345

Critical

In XStream before version 1.4.16, there is a vulnerability which may allow a remote attacker who has sufficient rights to execute commands of the host only by manipulating the processed input stream.

Published Dec 13, 2021 · Updated Oct 9, 2026 · Also known as BIT-activemq-2021-21345, DEBIAN-CVE-2021-21345, GHSA-hwpc-8xqv-jvj4, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-21345

Key Facts

Patch immediately
  • CVE-2021-21345 is a critical-severity vulnerability (CVSS 9.9 v3.1) affecting Activemq (Apache), Jmeter (Apache), Oncommand Insight (Netapp) and 18 more products.
  • It is not listed in any known-exploited vulnerabilities catalog. No public exploit code is known.
  • EPSS estimates a 72% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
  • Fixed versions are available, including Activemq 5.15.14, Jmeter 5.5, com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream 1.4.16.
  • Brandefense priority: patch immediately, because it is very likely to be exploited soon.

CVSS v3.1

9.9

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS (30-day exploit likelihood)

72%

Higher than 99.4% of all scored CVEs

Exploited in the wild

No known

Not in a known-exploited catalog

Public exploit code

None known

Get the full CVE-2021-21345 brief as a PDF

Every affected product and fixed release, exploitation status and a first 24 hours response checklist, emailed within minutes.

Description

XStream is a Java library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In XStream before version 1.4.16, there is a vulnerability which may allow a remote attacker who 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. If you rely on XStream's default blacklist of the Security Framework, you will have to use at least version 1.4.16.

Affected Products

84 affected entries in total
ProductAffected versionsFixed in
ActivemqApache5.16.0, 5.16.15.15.14
JmeterApacheSee advisory5.5
Oncommand InsightNetappSee advisoryn/a
Banking Enterprise Default ManagementOracle2.10.0, 2.12.0n/a
Banking PlatformOracle2.12.0, 2.4.0, 2.7.1, 2.9.0n/a
16 more affected products in the full CVE brief

Patched Releases

Activemq

5.15.14

Jmeter

5.5

com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream

1.4.16

libxstream-java

1.4.11.1-1+deb9u2, 1.4.11.1-1~18.04.2, 1.4.11.1-1ubuntu0.2, 1.4.15-2, 1.4.7-1ubuntu0.1+esm2, 1.4.8-1ubuntu0.1+esm3

Xstream

0:1.3.1-13.el7_9, 1.3.1-13.amzn2, 1.3.1-13.el7_9, 1.4.16-3.8.1, 1.4.16-lp152.2.6.1, 1.4.18-1.1, 1.4.16

xstream-benchmark

1.4.16-3.8.1, 1.4.16-lp152.2.6.1, 1.4.18-1.1

xstream-javadoc

1.3.1-13.amzn2, 1.3.1-13.el7_9, 1.4.16-3.8.1, 1.4.16-lp152.2.6.1, 1.4.18-1.1

xstream-parent

1.4.16-3.8.1, 1.4.16-lp152.2.6.1, 1.4.18-1.1

Timeline

  1. Publicly disclosed

    Dec 13, 2021

  2. Last updated

    Oct 9, 2026

Weakness Type

  • CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
  • CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
  • CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data

References

15 more references in the full CVE brief

FAQ

Common Questions.

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