CVE-2021-22569

unknown
Published 2022-01-07 · Modified 2026-02-04
CVSS v3
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS v2
VIR risk

Description

An issue in protobuf-java allowed the interleaving of com.google.protobuf.UnknownFieldSet fields in such a way that would be processed out of order. A small malicious payload can occupy the parser for several minutes by creating large numbers of short-lived objects that cause frequent, repeated pauses. We recommend upgrading libraries beyond the vulnerable versions.

Predictions

Exploit likelihood
30%
Patch ETA

Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.

Mitigations

vendor Authored 2026-05-27

Vendor advisory: debian — https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-22569

vendor Authored 2026-05-27

Vendor advisory: suse — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-22569.html

OS impact

OSVersionStatusFixed in
suse slesaffected
debian debianbookwormfixed3.21.9-3
debian debianbullseyefixed3.12.4-1+deb11u1
debian debianforkyfixed3.21.9-3
debian debiansidfixed3.21.9-3
debian debiantrixiefixed3.21.9-3

Package impact

EcosystemPackageVulnerableFixed
ruby RubyGemsgoogle-protobuf<>= 3.19.2>= 3.19.2
java Mavencom.google.protobuf:protobuf-java<3.16.13.16.1
ruby RubyGemsgoogle-protobuf<3.19.23.19.2
java Mavencom.google.protobuf:protobuf-java>=3.18.0,<3.18.23.18.2
java Mavencom.google.protobuf:protobuf-java>=3.19.0,<3.19.23.19.2
java Mavencom.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin>=3.18.0,<3.18.23.18.2
java Mavencom.google.protobuf:protobuf-kotlin>=3.19.0,<3.19.23.19.2

References

Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.