dbcve.org
DubboApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-46279

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Apache Dubbo.This issue only affects Apache Dubbo 3.1.5. Users are recommended to upgrade to the latest version, which fixes the issue.

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 · moderate confidence

A deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability exists in Apache Dubbo version 3.1.5. This critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending specially crafted serialized objects to vulnerable Dubbo endpoints. The vulnerability stems from insecure deserialization practices when processing incoming RPC requests.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Dubbo from version 3.1.5 to the latest available version to address this deserialization vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network exposure to Dubbo service ports and implement additional input validation layers.

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:= 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 Dubbo installation and version
    Locate Dubbo JAR files, check pom.xml dependencies, or query the Dubbo management interface for the exact version number. Common locations: WEB-INF/lib for WAR deployments, or Maven/Gradle dependency tree.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.1.5
  2. Verify Dubbo service is network accessible
    Check if Dubbo ports (default 20880, 2181 for ZooKeeper, or custom port configured in dubbo.protocol) are bound to a network interface accessible from outside the local host. Use 'netstat -tlnp' or 'ss -tlnp' to list listening ports.
    Affected if Dubbo RPC ports are listening on 0.0.0.0 or an external IP rather than only localhost (127.0.0.1)
  3. Confirm Hessian serialization is in use
    Check dubbo.properties or application configuration for 'dubbo.protocol.serialization=hessian2' or inspect the serialization provider configuration. Hessian is commonly used with Dubbo and is the typical vector for this deserialization flaw.
    Affected if Hessian2 (or legacy Hessian) serialization is configured as the dubbo protocol serialization method

You are affected if Dubbo version 3.1.5 is installed AND the service is network-accessible with Hessian serialization enabled for RPC requests.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Apache Dubbo from version 3.1.5 to the latest available version to address this deserialization vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network exposure to Dubbo service ports and implement additional input validation layers.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Dubbo 3.1.6 or later (latest stable release)

  1. 1. Backup your current Dubbo configuration and application data
  2. 2. Stop all Dubbo services running version 3.1.5
  3. 3. Update the Dubbo dependency in your project (e.g., Maven pom.xml or Gradle build file) to version 3.1.6 or later
  4. 4. Rebuild your application with the updated dependency
  5. 5. Update Dubbo configuration files if any new configuration options are required for the new version
  6. 6. Test the application thoroughly in a staging environment before deploying to production
  7. 7. Deploy the updated application and restart all Dubbo services
Caveat Review Dubbo 3.1.6 release notes for any configuration or API changes that may affect your deployment

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

Fix this in Dubbo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,288.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46279 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-46279 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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