CVE-2021-36161: Unprotected input value toString cause RCE

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 2.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-09-09 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-134

Description

Some component in Dubbo will try to print the formated string of the input arguments, which will possibly cause RCE for a maliciously customized bean with special toString method. In the latest version, we fix the toString call in timeout, cache and some other places. Fixed in Apache Dubbo 2.7.13

Affected products

Apache Software Foundation Apache Dubbo: from 2.7.0 before 2.7.13 — fixed in 2.7.13

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Apache Software Foundation Apache Dubbo 2.7.13. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r40212261fd5d638074b65f22ac73eebe93ace310c79d4cfcca4863da%40%3Cdev.dubbo.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r40212261fd5d638074b65f22ac73eebe93ace310c79d4cfcca4863da%40%3Cdev.dubbo.apache.org%3E

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