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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2022-21291

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Hotspot). Supported versions that are affected are Oracle Java SE: 7u321, 8u311, 11.0.13, 17.0.1; Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition: 20.3.4 and 21.3.0. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows unauthenticated attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized update, insert or delete access to some of Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition accessible data. Note: This vulnerability applies to Java deployments, typically in clients running sandboxed Java Web Start applications or sandboxed Java applets, that load and run untrusted code (e.g., code that comes from the internet) and rely on the Java sandbox for security. This vulnerability can also be exploited by using APIs in the specified Component, e.g., through a web service which supplies data to the APIs. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 5.3 (Integrity impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Vulnerability in Oracle Java SE and GraalVM Enterprise Edition's Hotspot component allows unauthenticated remote attackers to perform unauthorized update, insert or delete operations on accessible data. The flaw impacts Java deployments running sandboxed Web Start applications or applets that load untrusted code from the internet, or applications using affected APIs.

MitigationApply Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2022 (or later) which includes the fix for this Hotspot vulnerability. Upgrade to Java SE 7u321+/8u311+/11.0.13+/17.0.1+ or GraalVM Enterprise Edition 20.3.4+/21.3.0+ as appropriate.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0
OpenjdkApplication
Affected:>= 11, <= 11.0.13>= 13, <= 13.0.9>= 15, <= 15.0.5= 17= 17.0.1
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 34
GraalvmApplication
Affected:= 20.3.4= 21.3.0
JdkApplication
Affected:= 1.7.0= 1.8.0= 11.0.13= 17.0.1
JreApplication
Affected:= 1.7.0= 1.8.0= 11.0.13= 17.0.1
7 Mode Transition ToolApplication
Affected:all versions
Active Iq Unified ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Java runtime version
    Run 'java -version' or 'java -fullversion' to obtain the exact Java version. For Debian/Fedora, also check installed packages with 'dpkg -l | grep -i java' or 'rpm -qa | grep -i java'. For Oracle JDK/JRE, check the version from the installation directory.
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected ranges: Oracle JDK/JRE 1.7.0, 1.8.0, 11.0.13, 17.0.1; OpenJDK 11.0.13 or lower, 13.0.9 or lower, 15.0.5 or lower, 17 or 17.0.1; or GraalVM 20.3.4 or 21.3.0.
  2. Check if Java Web Start is enabled
    Look for javaws binary: run 'which javaws' or check for Web Start in Java Control Panel under the Security tab. On Linux, check for /usr/bin/javaws or in the Java installation's bin directory.
    Affected if Web Start is installed and enabled, as the vulnerability specifically impacts sandboxed Web Start applications loading untrusted code from the internet.
  3. Check for applet usage in running applications
    Search deployment descriptors and application configurations for <applet> tags, or check if applications use the Java Applet API. Look in WAR/EAR files, web.xml, or application configuration files.
    Affected if Applications use Java applets that load untrusted code from the network, as this is one of the primary attack vectors for this vulnerability.
  4. Identify if running Oracle GraalVM
    Run 'graalvm --version' or check for graalvm installation paths. On affected systems, check if the graalvm package is installed via system package manager.
    Affected if GraalVM Enterprise Edition version 20.3.4 or 21.3.0 is installed.
  5. Check NetApp product installations
    Identify any NetApp 7-Mode Transition Tool or Active IQ Unified Manager installations. Use 'rpm -qa' or 'dpkg -l' to list installed NetApp packages, or check common installation directories.
    Affected if Any version of the NetApp products listed (7-Mode Transition Tool or Active IQ Unified Manager) is installed, as these include affected Java components.

You are affected if you have any Oracle Java SE, OpenJDK, or GraalVM installation matching the vulnerable versions AND your deployment runs sandboxed Web Start applications, applets loading untrusted code, or uses the affected Hotspot APIs.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.0.5
Interim mitigation

Apply Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2022 (or later) which includes the fix for this Hotspot vulnerability. Upgrade to Java SE 7u321+/8u311+/11.0.13+/17.0.1+ or GraalVM Enterprise Edition 20.3.4+/21.3.0+ as appropriate.

Recommended fix High confidence

Oracle Java SE 7u331+/8u321+/11.0.14+/17.0.2+, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition 20.3.5+/21.3.1+, or distribution-provided patched packages

  1. Identify the currently installed Java version using 'java -version'
  2. For Oracle Java SE: upgrade to Java SE 7 Update 331 or later, 8 Update 321 or later, 11.0.14 or later, or 17.0.2 or later
  3. For Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition: upgrade to 20.3.5 or later, or 21.3.1 or later
  4. On Debian/Ubuntu: run 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade openjdk-*' or 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade java-*'
  5. On Fedora: run 'dnf update java-*' or 'dnf upgrade'
  6. On systems using JDK/JRE packages: update to versions beyond 1.7.0_331, 1.8.0_321, 11.0.14, and 17.0.2
  7. Verify the upgrade by running 'java -version' and confirming the version number
Caveat Oracle Java SE 8u311 to 8u321 is a minor update unlikely to cause breaking changes; major version jumps (e.g., from Java 8 to 17) may require code compatibility testing

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-21291 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data