{"id":"CVE-2021-22569","aliases":["GHSA-wrvw-hg22-4m67"],"url":"https://o3.security/vulnerability/CVE-2021-22569","summary":"A potential Denial of Service issue in protobuf-java","details":"## Summary\n\nA potential Denial of Service issue in protobuf-java was discovered in the parsing procedure for binary data.\n\nReporter: [OSS-Fuzz](https://github.com/google/oss-fuzz)\n\nAffected versions: All versions of Java Protobufs (including Kotlin and JRuby) prior to the versions listed below. Protobuf \"javalite\" users (typically Android) are not affected.\n\n## Severity\n\n[CVE-2021-22569](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2021-22569) **High** - CVSS Score: 7.5,  An implementation weakness in how unknown fields are parsed in Java. A small (~800 KB) malicious payload can occupy the parser for several minutes by creating large numbers of short-lived objects that cause frequent, repeated GC pauses.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n\nFor reproduction details, please refer to the oss-fuzz issue that identifies the specific inputs that exercise this parsing weakness.\n\n## Remediation and Mitigation\n\nPlease update to the latest available versions of the following packages:\n\n- protobuf-java (3.16.1, 3.18.2, 3.19.2) \n- protobuf-kotlin (3.18.2, 3.19.2)\n- google-protobuf [JRuby  gem only] (3.19.2) \n","published":"2022-01-10T14:10:16.747Z","modified":"2026-08-07T15:15:10.415006Z","cvss":{"score":5.5,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"},"epss":{"score":0.01669,"percentile":0.75635,"asOf":"2026-09-17"},"cisaKev":null,"exploitsKnown":1,"affectedPackages":[{"ecosystem":"Maven","name":"com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java","fixedVersion":"3.16.1"},{"ecosystem":"Maven","name":"com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java","fixedVersion":"3.18.2"},{"ecosystem":"Maven","name":"com.google.protobuf:protobuf-java","fixedVersion":"3.19.2"},{"ecosystem":"Maven","name":"com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin","fixedVersion":"3.18.2"},{"ecosystem":"Maven","name":"com.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin","fixedVersion":"3.19.2"},{"ecosystem":"RubyGems","name":"google-protobuf","fixedVersion":"3.19.2"}],"fix":null,"references":[{"type":"WEB","url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/04/msg00019.html"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/12/4"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/01/12/7"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://cloud.google.com/support/bulletins#gcp-2022-001"},{"type":"REPORT","url":"https://bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/detail?id=39330"},{"type":"FIX","url":"https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html"},{"type":"WEB","url":"https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/security/advisories/GHSA-wrvw-hg22-4m67"},{"type":"ADVISORY","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22569"},{"type":"PACKAGE","url":"https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf"}],"provenance":{"sources":["OSV.dev","FIRST.org (EPSS)"],"lastVerified":"2026-08-07T15:15:10.415006Z"}}