Deserialization in Apache Dubbo

CVE-2021-32824

Apache Dubbo is a java based, open source RPC framework. Versions prior to 2.6.10 and 2.7.10 are vulnerable to pre-auth remote code execution via arbitrary bean manipulation in the Telnet handler. The Dubbo main service port can be used to access a Telnet Handler which offers some basic methods to collect information about the providers and methods exposed by the service and it can even allow to shutdown the service. This endpoint is unprotected. Additionally, a provider method can be invoked using the `invoke` handler. This handler uses a safe version of FastJson to process the call arguments. However, the resulting list is later processed with `PojoUtils.realize` which can be used to instantiate arbitrary classes and invoke its setters. Even though FastJson is properly protected with a default blocklist, `PojoUtils.realize` is not, and an attacker can leverage that to achieve remote code execution. Versions 2.6.10 and 2.7.10 contain fixes for this issue.

Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization

EPSS: 0.029 (85.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-32824?
CVE-2021-32824 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Apache Dubbo, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2023-01-03.
How severe is CVE-2021-32824?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2021-32824 known to be exploited?
5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.