CVE-2023-38647: Apache Helix: Deserialization vulnerability in Helix workflow and REST

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 2.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-07-26 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-502

Description

An attacker can use SnakeYAML to deserialize java.net.URLClassLoader and make it load a JAR from a specified URL, and then deserialize javax.script.ScriptEngineManager to load code using that ClassLoader. This unbounded deserialization can likely lead to remote code execution. The code can be run in Helix REST start and Workflow creation. Affect all the versions lower and include 1.2.0. Affected products: helix-core, helix-rest Mitigation: Short term, stop using any YAML based configuration and workflow creation. Long term, all Helix version bumping up to 1.3.0

Affected products

Apache Software Foundation Apache Helix: before 1.3.0 — fixed in 1.3.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Apache Software Foundation Apache Helix 1.3.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2023-38647 or the next vulnerability affects your stack