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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 23 Nov 2023. Known ransomware use
ActivemqApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-46604

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.16 / 5.16.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit 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
The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker with network access to either a Java-based OpenWire broker or client to run arbitrary shell commands by manipulating serialized class types in the OpenWire protocol to cause either the client or the broker (respectively) to instantiate any class on the classpath. Users are recommended to upgrade both brokers and clients to version 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3 which fixes this 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 · high confidence

The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller contains a deserialization vulnerability that allows remote attackers to manipulate serialized class types in the OpenWire protocol, causing affected brokers or clients to instantiate arbitrary classes on the classpath and execute shell commands remotely.

MitigationUpgrade all Java-based OpenWire brokers and clients to versions 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3; restrict network access to OpenWire ports as an interim control until patching is complete.

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
ActivemqApplication
Affected:< 5.15.16>= 5.16.0, < 5.16.7>= 5.17.0, < 5.17.6>= 5.18.0, < 5.18.3
Activemq Legacy Openwire ModulePlugin / extension
Affected:< 5.15.16>= 5.16.0, < 5.16.7>= 5.17.0, < 5.17.6>= 5.18.0, < 5.18.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0= 11.0
E Series Santricity Unified ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions
E Series Santricity Web Services ProxyApplication
Affected:all versions
Santricity Storage PluginPlugin / extension
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
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 Apache ActiveMQ installation and version
    Run 'activemq --version' or check the version file in the ActiveMQ installation directory (typically bin/activemq or lib/activemq-*.jar). On Debian, check installed packages with 'dpkg -l | grep activemq'
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.15.16, or between 5.16.0-5.16.6, 5.17.0-5.17.5, or 5.18.0-5.18.2
  2. Verify OpenWire protocol is enabled
    Check the ActiveMQ XML configuration file (activemq.xml) for the OpenWire transport connector. Look for <transportConnector> elements with 'openwire' in the URI (e.g., 'tcp://0.0.0.0:61616')
    Affected if OpenWire transport connector is present and active (this is the default setting)
  3. Confirm network exposure of the broker
    Review the bind address in the transport connector URI. Check iptables rules or firewall configuration for open ports 61616 (default OpenWire) and 8161 (web console). Inspect network interfaces with 'ip addr' or 'netstat -tlnp'
    Affected if The OpenWire port (typically 61616) is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet
  4. Check for NetApp E Series products using ActiveMQ
    For NetApp E Series Santricity Unified Manager, Web Services Proxy, or Santricity Storage Plugin, identify if the Java components bundle ActiveMQ. Check installed software versions and running Java processes related to these products
    Affected if Any version of the listed NetApp products is running (they all include vulnerable ActiveMQ components)
  5. Inspect Java process for ActiveMQ classpath
    Run 'ps aux | grep activemq' to find the Java process, then check the classpath with 'jcmd <pid> VM.flags' or examine startup scripts in /etc/init.d/ or the bin/ directory for JAR references
    Affected if The process runs any JAR file from the affected ActiveMQ version ranges

You are affected if you run any Apache ActiveMQ version below 5.15.16, 5.16.0-5.16.6, 5.17.0-5.17.5, or 5.18.0-5.18.2, or any NetApp E Series product, AND the OpenWire protocol is enabled and 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 5.15.16 / 5.16.7 / 5.17.6 or later
Fixed in 5.15.165.16.75.17.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade all Java-based OpenWire brokers and clients to versions 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3; restrict network access to OpenWire ports as an interim control until patching is complete.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Apache ActiveMQ 5.18.3 (or 5.15.16, 5.16.7, or 5.17.6 depending on stability requirements)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Apache ActiveMQ version by checking the 'activemq-all' JAR manifest or running 'activemq --version'
  2. 2. Stop the ActiveMQ broker or client service before upgrading
  3. 3. For Maven-based Java clients, update the dependency in pom.xml: change <version> to one of the fixed versions (5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3) - e.g., <artifactId>activemq-client</artifactId> <version>5.18.3</version>
  4. 4. For standalone broker installations, download the fixed release from the Apache ActiveMQ archives (activemq.apache.org/download.html) - specifically version 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3
  5. 5. Replace the old activemq-all.jar or activemq-client.jar with the new version from the fixed release
  6. 6. If using OpenWire protocol, ensure the new client/broker is properly configured and restart the service
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade by checking the version number and testing that the broker/client starts successfully
  8. 8. Review release notes for the chosen version to check for any configuration changes required
Caveat Review release notes for chosen version as minor configuration changes may be needed; test client/broker interoperability before production deployment

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

Fix this in Activemq Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2023-46604 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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