CVE-2022-40151: Xstream Denial of Service Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2022-40151 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow) affecting Xstream libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves xstream can cause a denial of service by injecting deeply nested objects raising a stack overflow. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.20.
CVE-2022-40151 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 7.5
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2022-40151
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Xstream dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
<dependency>
<groupId>com.thoughtworks.xstream</groupId>
<artifactId>xstream</artifactId>
<version>1.4.20</version>
</dependency>Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.thoughtworks.xstreamHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-40151, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:
mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.thoughtworks.xstreamAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Xstream in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.20), your application is affected.
Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.thoughtworks.xstream command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-121: Stack-based Buffer Overflow, where a stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). In Xstream, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2022-40151 Affected Xstream Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream
|
Maven |
< 1.4.20
|
1.4.20
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2022-40151?
Which Xstream versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2022-40151?
Is xstream affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-40151?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-40151?
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-40151?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm",
"modified" : "2022-12-30T16:58:39Z",
"published" : "2022-12-30T16:58:39Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-40151" ],
"summary" : "XStream can cause a Denial of Service by injecting deeply nested objects raising a stack overflow",
"details" : "### Impact\nThe 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.\n\n### Patches\nXStream 1.4.20 handles the stack overflow and raises an InputManipulationException instead.\n\n### Workarounds\nThe only solution is to catch the StackOverflowError in the client code calling XStream.\n\n### References\nSee full information about the nature of the vulnerability and the steps to reproduce it in XStream's documentation for [CVE-2022-40151](https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2022-40151.html).\n\n### Credits\nThe vulnerability was discovered and reported by Henry Lin of the Google OSS-Fuzz team.\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [XStream](https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/issues)\n* Contact us at [XStream Google Group](https://groups.google.com/group/xstream-user)\n",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Maven",
"name" : "com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.4.20"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/security/advisories/GHSA-f8cc-g7j8-xxpm"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-40151"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/issues/304"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/x-stream/xstream/issues/314"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/detail?id=47367"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/x-stream/xstream"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://x-stream.github.io/CVE-2022-40151.html"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-121", "CWE-502", "CWE-787" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2022-12-30T16:58:39Z",
"nvd_published_at" : null
}
}