GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm
HIGHGHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-121 vulnerability in com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
XStream can cause a Denial of Service by injecting deeply nested objects raising a stack overflow
Real-World Exposure
com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstreamReal-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
Impact
The vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to terminate the application with a stack overflow error resulting in a denial of service only by manipulating the processed input stream.
Patches
XStream 1.4.20 handles the stack overflow and raises an InputManipulationException instead.
Workarounds
The only solution is to catch the StackOverflowError in the client code calling XStream.
References
See full information about the nature of the vulnerability and the steps to reproduce it in XStream's documentation for CVE-2022-40151.
Credits
The vulnerability was discovered and reported by Henry Lin of the Google OSS-Fuzz team.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in XStream
- Contact us at XStream Google Group
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream | all versions | 1.4.20 |
Research 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 com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream. 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.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream to 1.4.20 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm 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 GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm 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 GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.