Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Dubbo

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2021-30179: 4.08% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 90.73 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Apache Dubbo prior to 2.6.9 and 2.7.10 by default supports generic calls to arbitrary methods exposed by provider interfaces. These invocations are handled by the GenericFilter which will find the service and method specified in the first arguments of the invocation and use the Java Reflection API to make the final call. The signature for the $invoke or $invokeAsync methods is Ljava/lang/String;Ljava/lang/String;[Ljava/lang/Object; where the first argument is the name of the method to invoke, the second one is an array with the parameter types for the method being invoked and the third one is an array with the actual call arguments. In addition, the caller also needs to set an RPC attachment specifying that the call is a generic call and how to decode the arguments. The possible values are: - true - raw.return - nativejava - bean - protobuf-json An attacker can control this RPC attachment and set it to nativejava to force the java deserialization of the byte array located in the…

Published by the source

18 Mar 2022, 17:57 UTC

Last modified by the source

1 Feb 2023, 05:05 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:06 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-5mc7-m686-p6jg

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2021-30179

Advisory: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Dubbo
IDs: CVE-2021-30179, GHSA-5mc7-m686-p6jg
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2021-30179 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:06 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: org.apache.dubbo:dubbo 2.7.10; com.alibaba:dubbo 2.6.9. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.apache.dubbo:dubbo: affected >= 2.5.0, < 2.7.10; fixed in 2.7.10
- Maven com.alibaba:dubbo: affected >= 2.5.0, < 2.6.9; fixed in 2.6.9

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven org.apache.dubbo:dubbo: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Maven com.alibaba:dubbo: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.apache.dubbo:dubbo, com.alibaba:dubbo.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5mc7-m686-p6jg (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-5mc7-m686-p6jg lists affected ranges: Maven org.apache.dubbo:dubbo >=2.5.0 =2.5.0 <2.6.9)

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