JohnzonApplication · Apache
CVE-2023-33008
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 · uneditedDeserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Johnzon. A malicious attacker can craft up some JSON input that uses large numbers (numbers such as 1e20000000) that Apache Johnzon will deserialize into BigDecimal and maybe use numbers too large which may result in a slow conversion (Denial of service risk). Apache Johnzon 1.2.21 mitigates this by setting a scale limit of 1000 (by default) to the BigDecimal. This issue affects Apache Johnzon: through 1.2.20.
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 confidenceApache Johnzon before 1.2.21 deserializes JSON numbers into BigDecimal without size validation, allowing attackers to submit extremely large numbers (e.g., 1e20000000) that trigger computationally expensive conversion operations, resulting in Denial of Service.
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
JohnzonApplication
< 1.2.21CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Locate Apache Johnzon in your applicationSearch for johnzon-core or org.apache.johnzon in your project's dependency files (pom.xml, build.gradle, package.json, or examine JAR files in the classpath for org/apache/johnzon/ packages)Affected if Apache Johnzon library is present in the runtime environment
-
Determine installed Johnzon versionCheck the MANIFEST.MF file inside the johnzon-core JAR for Bundle-Version, or look at the JAR filename which often includes the version number, or inspect your dependency management system output for the johnzon versionAffected if Version is less than 1.2.21
-
Identify JSON deserialization pathsSearch codebase for usage of Johnzon's ObjectMapper, JsonReader, or parser classes that convert JSON to Java objects, particularly where number types are deserialized into BigDecimalAffected if Your application uses Johnzon to deserialize JSON from external or untrusted sources into objects containing BigDecimal fields
-
Check if untrusted JSON input is processedReview whether HTTP endpoints, message queues, file uploads, or API integrations accept JSON that gets parsed by Johnzon without prior validationAffected if Untrusted or externally-sourced JSON data flows into Johnzon deserialization routines
You are affected if Apache Johnzon version is below 1.2.21 AND your application deserializes untrusted JSON containing numeric values into BigDecimal fields.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.2.21
Upgrade to Apache Johnzon 1.2.21 or later which implements a default scale limit of 1000 on BigDecimal to prevent slow conversions.
1.2.21
- Upgrade Apache Johnzon to version 1.2.21 or later to obtain the fix that sets a default scale limit of 1000 on BigDecimal deserialization
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Johnzon
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-33008 — 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-2023-33008 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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