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.
CVE-2021-21345
Score elevated to 9.0 because EPSS predicts 88% probability of exploitation within the next 30 days (top 0.5% of all CVEs). NVD baseline CVSS 5.8 retained for reference. Confidence: see factors.
- High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 72%
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 5.8
- EG Score
- 9.0(high)
- EPSS
- 99.4%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
March 23, 2021
Last Modified
May 23, 2025
References (32)
- security-advisories@githubhttp://x-stream.github.io/changes.html#1.4.16
- security-advisories@githubhttps://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-hwpc-8xqv-jvj4
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r8244fd0831db894d5e89911ded9c72196d395a90ae655414d23ed0dd%40%3Cusers.activemq.apache.org%3E
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9ac71b047767205aa22e3a08cb33f3e0586de6b2fac48b425c6e16b0%40%3Cdev.jmeter.apache.org%3E
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/04/msg00002.html
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/22KVR6B5IZP3BGQ3HPWIO2FWWCKT3DHP/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/PVPHZA7VW2RRSDCOIPP2W6O5ND254TU7/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QGXIU3YDPG6OGTDHMBLAFN7BPBERXREB/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210430-0002/
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5004
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
- security-advisories@githubhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
- security-advisories@githubhttps://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2021-21345.html
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-21345(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Patch Availability(6)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | libxstream-java (1.4.11.1-1ubuntu0.2) @ focal | 2026-05-26 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | libxstream-java (1.4.7-1ubuntu0.1+esm2) @ trusty | 2026-05-26 | ubuntu |
| redhat | xstream | 2021-12-14 | redhat |
| redhat | patch | 2021-12-02 | redhat |
| redhat | patch | 2021-11-23 | redhat |
| redhat | xstream-0:1.3.1-13.el7_9 | 2021-04-26 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Maven(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream | 0.1 ... 1.4.9 (40 versions) | 1.4.16 | — |
Weakness Classification(3)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(8)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
- Red HatRHSA-2021:1354IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:1354 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2021:2139IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:2139 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2021:2475IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:2475 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2021:2476IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:2476 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4767IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:4767 — Important
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4918IMPORTANT2021-03-12
RHSA-2021:4918 — Important
- UbuntuUSN-4943-1MEDIUM
XStream vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-6978-1MEDIUM
XStream vulnerabilities
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 2× in last 7d / 30× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-09 19:07 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-04 06:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-02 16:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 15:03 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-01 06:48 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-28 04:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-28 04:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-27 03:06 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-25 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-23 21:31 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 14:24 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 14:54 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-18 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-17 17:51 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 31 moreShow fewer
- 2026-06-15 17:46 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 22:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-13 11:13 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-12 23:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-11 13:58 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 22:16 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-10 13:20 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-08 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-07 15:23 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 22:45 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:09 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-04 13:10 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-06-01 13:50 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-31 22:29 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-29 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-28 13:43 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 19:33 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-26 19:33 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-26 07:17 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-05-24 20:42 UTCOSV refresh
Publicly available exploits
(1 reference)Working exploit code is in the public domain. Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.
- Nucleihttp/cves/2021/CVE-2021-21345.yamlFirst seen Jan 1, 2021
XStream < 1.4.16 - Remote Code Execution
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same vendor + same CWE)
Same vendor
10 shownredhat
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-502 · CWE-78 · CWE-94
Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-21345?
When was CVE-2021-21345 disclosed?
Is CVE-2021-21345 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-21345?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-21345?
Dependency Blast Radius
See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2021-21345
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2021-21345?
EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.