CVE-2022-39198 — hessian-lite
CRITICALCVE-2022-39198 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in com.alibaba:hessian-lite. A fix is available for com.alibaba:hessian-lite — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Dubbo Hession Deserialization Vulnerability Gadgets Bypass
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-39198.
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-39198 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
com.alibaba:hessian-lite☕org.apache.dubbo:dubbo☕org.apache.dubbo:dubbo☕org.apache.dubbo:dubboReal-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
A deserialization vulnerability existed in dubbo hessian-lite 3.2.12 and its earlier versions, which could lead to malicious code execution. This issue affects Apache Dubbo 2.7.x version 2.7.17 and prior versions; Apache Dubbo 3.0.x version 3.0.11 and prior versions; Apache Dubbo 3.1.x version 3.1.0 and prior versions.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.alibaba:hessian-lite | all versions | 3.2.13com.alibaba:hessian-lite:3.2.13 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.dubbo:dubbo | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.18 | 2.7.18org.apache.dubbo:dubbo:2.7.18 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.dubbo:dubbo | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.12 | 3.0.12org.apache.dubbo:dubbo:3.0.12 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.dubbo:dubbo | ≥ 3.1.0&&< 3.1.1 | 3.1.1org.apache.dubbo:dubbo:3.1.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.alibaba:hessian-lite, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update com.alibaba:hessian-lite to 3.2.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-39198 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-39198 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-39198. 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-2022-39198 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-39198 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.