CVE-2023-36480 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in com.aerospike:aerospike-client. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2023-36480 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Aerospike Java Client vulnerable to unsafe deserialization of server responses
Real-World Exposure
com.aerospike:aerospike-client☕com.aerospike:aerospike-client☕com.aerospike:aerospike-clientReal-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
The Aerospike Java client is a Java application that implements a network protocol to communicate with an Aerospike server. Prior to versions 7.0.0, 6.2.0, 5.2.0, and 4.5.0 some of the messages received from the server contain Java objects that the client deserializes when it encounters them without further validation. Attackers that manage to trick clients into communicating with a malicious server can include especially crafted objects in its responses that, once deserialized by the client, force it to execute arbitrary code. This can be abused to take control of the machine the client is running on. Versions 7.0.0, 6.2.0, 5.2.0, and 4.5.0 contain a patch for this issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.aerospike:aerospike-client | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.2.0 | 6.2.0 |
| ☕Maven | com.aerospike:aerospike-client | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.2.0 | 5.2.0 |
| ☕Maven | com.aerospike:aerospike-client | all versions | 4.5.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.aerospike:aerospike-client. 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 com.aerospike:aerospike-client to 6.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-36480 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-2023-36480 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-2023-36480. 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-2023-36480 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-36480 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.