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OpenAdvisories
High · 7.5 Scanner template Public exploit CVE-2021-29505 EUVD-2021-0996GHSA-7chv-rrw6-w6fc

XStream is vulnerable to a Remote Command Execution attack

Published May 28, 2021 · Updated Oct 7, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Vendor: x-stream Product: xstream Package: com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream Package: libxstream-java Package: libxstream-java Ecosystem: Debian Ecosystem: Maven Ecosystem: Ubuntu

Description

XStream is software for serializing Java objects to XML and back again. A vulnerability in XStream versions prior to 1.4.17 may allow a remote attacker has sufficient rights to execute commands of the host only by manipulating the processed input stream. No user who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's security framework with a whitelist limited to the minimal required types is affected. The vulnerability is patched in version 1.4.17.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
x-stream xstream < 1.4.17 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

Debian

Security tracker ↗
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 libxstream-java 1.4.15-3 —
Debian 13 libxstream-java 1.4.15-3 —
Debian 12 libxstream-java 1.4.15-3 —
Debian 9 libxstream-java 1.4.11.1-1+deb9u3 DLA-2704-1

Ubuntu

Security tracker ↗
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS libxstream-java No fix yet —
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS libxstream-java No fix yet —
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS libxstream-java No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS libxstream-java No fix yet —

Red Hat

Security tracker ↗
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
RHEL 7 xstream +1 1.3.1-14.el7_9 RHSA-2021:2683

SUSE

Security tracker ↗
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
SLES 15 SP3 xstream 1.4.17-3.11.2 SUSE-SU-2021:1995-1
SLES 15 SP2 xstream 1.4.17-3.11.2 SUSE-SU-2021:1995-1
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
SUSE Manager Server Module 4.2 xstream 1.4.17-3.11.2 SUSE-SU-2021:1995-1
SUSE Manager Server Module 4.1 xstream 1.4.17-3.11.2 SUSE-SU-2021:1995-1

openSUSE

Security tracker ↗
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
openSUSE Tumbleweed xstream 1.4.18-1.1 openSUSE-SU-2024:10592-1
openSUSE Leap 15.3 xstream 1.4.17-3.11.2 openSUSE-SU-2021:1995-1
openSUSE Leap 15.2 xstream 1.4.17-lp152.2.9.1 openSUSE-SU-2021:0911-1

Amazon Linux

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Amazon Linux 2 xstream +1 1.3.1-14.amzn2 ALAS2-2021-1698

Oracle Linux

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Oracle Linux 7 xstream +1 1.3.1-14.el7_9 ELSA-2021-2683

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

GitHub 2 repositories

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Automated scanner template

A ready-made Nuclei template detects this vulnerability automatically. Vulnerabilities with public scanner templates are typically probed across the internet soon after the template appears — exposed systems should be patched first.

Source: projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates (MIT) — updated daily. Only links are listed.

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
Maven com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream < 1.4.17 1.4.17 GHSA-7chv-rrw6-w6fc

Advisories 11

References