CVE-2021-23441: Jsoniter Jsoniter Vulnerability

HIGH

Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h9w3-f7x6-v54c

CVSS 7.0

Published 2021-09-20

Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-23441 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.0) jsoniter vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Jsoniter libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves jsoniter. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2021-23441 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-23441

GHSA Identifier GHSA-h9w3-f7x6-v54c

Severity HIGH

CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.0

CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Affected Product Jsoniter

Package Ecosystem Maven

Published Date 2021-09-20

Last Updated 2021-10-28

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.0

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)

Attack Complexity High (AC:H)

Privileges Required None (PR:N)

User Interaction None (UI:N)

Scope Unchanged (S:U)

Confidentiality Low (C:L)

Integrity Low (I:L)

Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-23441

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Jsoniter dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

com.jsoniter:jsoniter fixed: Latest secure release

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.jsoniter</groupId>
    <artifactId>jsoniter</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.jsoniter

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2021-23441, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.jsoniter

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jsoniter in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.jsoniter 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-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Jsoniter, 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

# Withdrawn was withdrawn by its CNA. Further investigation showed that it was not a security issue. ## Original Description All versions of package com.jsoniter:jsoniter are vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data via malicious JSON strings. This may lead to a Denial of Service, and in certain cases, code execution.

CVE-2021-23441 Affected Jsoniter Versions

1 component(s)

Product / Package	Ecosystem	Affected Versions	Fixed Version
com.jsoniter:jsoniter maven/com.jsoniter/jsoniter	Maven	≤ 0.9.23

References

NVD — CVE-2021-23441 NVD

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23441

snyk.io/vuln/snyk-java-comj... WEB

https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-COMJSONITER-1316198

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-23441?

CVE-2021-23441 is a security vulnerability in Jsoniter involving jsoniter under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.

Which Jsoniter versions are affected?

Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: com.jsoniter:jsoniter.

What version fixes CVE-2021-23441?

Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.

Is jsoniter affected?

Yes, com.jsoniter:jsoniter is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23441?

CVE-2021-23441 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H.

What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-23441?

CVE-2021-23441 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).

How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2021-23441?

Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.jsoniter'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.

Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema

Normalized schema output

View Raw JSON

{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-h9w3-f7x6-v54c",
  "modified" : "2021-10-28T16:14:46Z",
  "published" : "2021-09-20T23:18:54Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2021-10-28T16:13:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-23441" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in com.jsoniter:jsoniter",
  "details" : "# Withdrawn\n\nwas withdrawn by its CNA. Further investigation showed that it was not a security issue. \n\n## Original Description\n\nAll versions of package com.jsoniter:jsoniter are vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data via malicious JSON strings. This may lead to a Denial of Service, and in certain cases, code execution.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.jsoniter:jsoniter"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "0.9.23"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-23441"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JAVA-COMJSONITER-1316198"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-09-20T20:25:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-19T14:15:00Z"
  }
}

CVSS V3

7.0 HIGH