Summary
XStream is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack due to stack overflow from a manipulated binary input stream
Workarounds
The only solution is to catch the StackOverflowError in the client code calling XStream if XStream is configured to use the BinaryStreamDriver.
References
See full information about the nature of the vulnerability and the steps to reproduce it in XStream's documentation for CVE-2024-47072.
Credits
Alexis Challande of Trail Of Bits found and reported the issue to XStream and provided the required information to reproduce it.
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 when XStream is configured to use the BinaryStreamDriver.
Untrusted serialized data is processed by a deserializer that can instantiate arbitrary objects or execute code as a side effect. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution or logic abuse.
CVE-2024-47072 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.4.21); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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XStream 1.4.21 detects the manipulation in the binary input stream causing the the stack overflow and raises an InputManipulationException instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-47072? CVE-2024-47072 is a high-severity insecure deserialization vulnerability in com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (maven), affecting versions < 1.4.21. It is fixed in 1.4.21. Untrusted serialized data is processed by a deserializer that can instantiate arbitrary objects or execute code as a side effect.
- How severe is CVE-2024-47072? CVE-2024-47072 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream are affected by CVE-2024-47072? com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream (maven) versions < 1.4.21 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-47072? Yes. CVE-2024-47072 is fixed in 1.4.21. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-47072 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-47072 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-47072 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-47072? Upgrade
com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstreamto 1.4.21 or later.