CVE-2023-42278 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-120 vulnerability in cn.hutool:hutool-core. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for cn.hutool:hutool-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
hutool Buffer Overflow vulnerability
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-42278.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
cn.hutool:hutool-core☕cn.hutool:hutool-jsonReal-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
hutool v5.8.21 was discovered to contain a buffer overflow via the component JSONUtil.parse().
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | cn.hutool:hutool-core | all versions | 5.8.22cn.hutool:hutool-core:5.8.22 |
| ☕Maven | cn.hutool:hutool-json | all versions | 5.8.22cn.hutool:hutool-json:5.8.22 |
Affected Products
hutoolhutoolResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cn.hutool:hutool-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update cn.hutool:hutool-core to 5.8.22 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-42278 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-42278 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.