How severe is CVE-2021-32824?

CVE-2021-32824 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-32824?

CVE-2021-32824 affects the following packages: org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent (Maven), org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-32824?

Update org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent to 2.6.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-32824 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-32824 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent. 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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-32824 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-32824?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-32824 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-32824 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2021-32824, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-32824?

CVE-2021-32824 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 2.9%, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2021-32824?

CVE-2021-32824 is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2021-32824 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-32824 was published on January 3, 2023 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2021-32824: dubbo-parent Remote Code Execution (Critical 9.…

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

2.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk85th percentile-2.95%

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

2 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent☕org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent

Real-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

Apache Dubbo is a java based, open source RPC framework. Versions prior to 2.6.10 and 2.7.10 are vulnerable to pre-auth remote code execution via arbitrary bean manipulation in the Telnet handler. The Dubbo main service port can be used to access a Telnet Handler which offers some basic methods to collect information about the providers and methods exposed by the service and it can even allow to shutdown the service. This endpoint is unprotected. Additionally, a provider method can be invoked using the invoke handler. This handler uses a safe version of FastJson to process the call arguments. However, the resulting list is later processed with PojoUtils.realize which can be used to instantiate arbitrary classes and invoke its setters. Even though FastJson is properly protected with a default blocklist, PojoUtils.realize is not, and an attacker can leverage that to achieve remote code execution. Versions 2.6.10 and 2.7.10 contain fixes for this issue.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent`	all versions	2.6.10
☕Maven	`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent`	≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.10	2.7.10

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent. 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.apache.dubbo:dubbo-parent to 2.6.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-32824 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-2021-32824 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-2021-32824. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache Dubbo is a java based, open source RPC framework. Versions prior to 2.6.10 and 2.7.10 are vulnerable to pre-auth remote code execution via arbitrary bean manipulation in the Telnet handler. The Dubbo main service port can be used to access a Telnet Handler which offers some basic methods to collect information about the providers and methods exposed by the service and it can even allow to shutdown the service. This endpoint is unprotected. Additionally, a provider method can be invoked using the `invoke` handler. This handler uses a safe version of FastJson to process the call arguments

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-32824 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-32824 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2021-32824