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DubboApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-23638

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A deserialization vulnerability existed when dubbo generic invoke, which could lead to malicious code execution. This issue affects Apache Dubbo 2.7.x version 2.7.21 and prior versions; Apache Dubbo 3.0.x version 3.0.13 and prior versions; Apache Dubbo 3.1.x version 3.1.5 and prior versions.

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

A deserialization vulnerability in Apache Dubbo's generic invoke feature allows remote attackers to execute malicious code by submitting crafted serialized objects through the generic service invocation mechanism.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Dubbo to version 2.7.22, 3.0.14, or 3.1.6 or later. Alternatively, disable the generic invoke feature or restrict network access to Dubbo endpoints if immediate upgrading is not feasible.

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
DubboApplication
Affected:>= 2.7.0, <= 2.7.21>= 3.0.0, <= 3.0.13>= 3.1.0, <= 3.1.5

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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 the installed Dubbo version
    Locate the Dubbo JAR files in your deployment (check WEB-INF/lib for WAR deployments, lib directory for standalone, or pom.xml for Maven projects). Examine the manifest file inside the Dubbo JAR or the version field in pom.xml to determine the exact version number.
    Affected if The version is between 2.7.0 and 2.7.21, between 3.0.0 and 3.0.13, or between 3.1.0 and 3.1.5 inclusive.
  2. Confirm the generic invoke feature is enabled
    Search your Dubbo configuration files (such as dubbo.properties, application.yml, dubbo.xml, or spring configuration) for the generic attribute set to true. Check for configuration lines containing generic="true" or generic: true within service or provider definitions.
    Affected if The generic invoke feature is explicitly enabled (generic="true") in any service or provider configuration.
  3. Verify network accessibility of Dubbo ports
    Review your firewall rules, network security groups, or service deployment configuration to determine if Dubbo RPC ports (default 20880, 2181 for ZooKeeper, or custom ports) are exposed to untrusted networks or the public internet.
    Affected if Dubbo service ports are accessible from untrusted network segments or the internet.

Your environment is affected if the installed Dubbo version falls within any of the affected ranges and the generic invoke feature is enabled, especially if the service is network-accessible.

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 3.1.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Dubbo to version 2.7.22, 3.0.14, or 3.1.6 or later. Alternatively, disable the generic invoke feature or restrict network access to Dubbo endpoints if immediate upgrading is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Dubbo 2.7.22+ / 3.0.14+ / 3.1.6+ (upgrade to the latest stable version in your respective branch)

  1. Identify the current Apache Dubbo version in use (check pom.xml, dependencies, or running application)
  2. For Dubbo 2.7.x: upgrade to version 2.7.22 or later
  3. For Dubbo 3.0.x: upgrade to version 3.0.14 or later
  4. For Dubbo 3.1.x: upgrade to version 3.1.6 or later
  5. Update the version in pom.xml or build configuration file
  6. Verify the upgrade in a non-production environment before deploying to production
Caveat Review Dubbo release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and the target version, particularly when upgrading across major/minor version boundaries

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

Fix this in Dubbo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing20.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,440
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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-2023-23638 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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