Deserialization of Untrusted Data in org.apache.ddlutils:ddlutils

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-2021-41616: 3.45% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 89.04 (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 DB DdlUtils 1.0 included a BinaryObjectsHelper that was intended for use when migrating database data with a SQL data type of BINARY, VARBINARY, LONGVARBINARY, or BLOB between databases using the ddlutils features. The BinaryObjectsHelper class was insecure and used ObjectInputStream.readObject without validating that the input data was safe to deserialize. Please note that DdlUtils is no longer being actively developed. To address the insecurity of the BinaryObjectHelper class, the following changes to DdlUtils have been made: (1) BinaryObjectsHelper.java has been deleted from the DdlUtils source repository and the DdlUtils feature of propagating data of SQL binary types is therefore no longer present in DdlUtils; (2) The ddlutils-1.0 release has been removed from the Apache Release Distribution Infrastructure; (3) The DdlUtils web site has been updated to indicate that DdlUtils is now available only as source code, not as a packaged release.

Published by the source

4 Oct 2021, 20:12 UTC

Last modified by the source

1 Feb 2023, 05:06 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:07 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-9378-f4v7-jgm4

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2021-41616

Advisory: Deserialization of Untrusted Data in org.apache.ddlutils:ddlutils
IDs: CVE-2021-41616, GHSA-9378-f4v7-jgm4
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2021-41616 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:07 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 response not established. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven org.apache.ddlutils:ddlutils: affected <= 1.0

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

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on org.apache.ddlutils:ddlutils.
- 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-9378-f4v7-jgm4 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-9378-f4v7-jgm4 lists affected ranges: Maven org.apache.ddlutils:ddlutils >=0 <=1.0)

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