OpenjdkApplication · Oracle
CVE-2022-21540
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 · uneditedVulnerability 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: 7u343, 8u333, 11.0.15.1, 17.0.3.1, 18.0.1.1; Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition: 20.3.6, 21.3.2 and 22.1.0. 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 read access to a subset 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 (Confidentiality impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 analysisMemory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.
General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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
OpenjdkApplication
>= 11, <= 11.0.15>= 13, <= 13.0.11>= 15, <= 15.0.7>= 17, <= 17.0.3= 7= 8= 18
FedoraOperating system
= 36
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 10.0= 11.0= 20.3.6= 21.3.2= 22.1.0= 1.7.0= 1.8.0= 11.0.15.1= 17.0.3.1= 18.0.1.1= 1.7.0= 1.8.0= 11.0.15.1= 17.0.3.1= 18.0.1.1all versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
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 · scopedOracle Java SE: 11.0.16+, 17.0.4+, 18.0.1.2+ | OpenJDK: 11.0.16+, 17.0.4+, or latest LTS (21+) | GraalVM Enterprise Edition: 20.3.7+, 21.3.3+, 22.2.0+
- Identify the current JDK/JRE version by running `java -version`
- For Oracle Java SE users: Download and install the July 2022 CPU or later from https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
- For OpenJDK users: Upgrade to a version beyond the vulnerable releases such as OpenJDK 11.0.16+, 17.0.4+, or the latest LTS release (21 or later)
- For GraalVM Enterprise Edition users: Upgrade to version 20.3.7, 21.3.3, or 22.2.0 or later
- For Fedora users: Run `sudo dnf update java-*` to apply available security patches
- For Debian users: Run `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade openjdk-*` to apply available security patches
- After upgrade, verify the new version with `java -version` and confirm it is not in the affected versions list
- Test critical applications in a non-production environment before deploying the update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21540 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-21540 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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