CVE-2021-22097
MEDIUMDeserialization of Untrusted Data in Spring AMQP
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqp☕org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqpReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In Spring AMQP versions 2.2.0 - 2.2.18 and 2.3.0 - 2.3.10, the Spring AMQP Message object, in its toString() method, will deserialize a body for a message with content type application/x-java-serialized-object. It is possible to construct a malicious java.util.Dictionary object that can cause 100% CPU usage in the application if the toString() method is called.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqp | ≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.19 | 2.2.19 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqp | ≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.11 | 2.3.11 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqp. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.springframework.amqp:spring-amqp to 2.2.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-22097 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-22097 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2021-22097. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2021-22097 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2021-22097 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.