CVE-2026-21452: MessagePack-Java Vulnerable to Remote Denial of Service via Malicious .msgpack Model File Triggering Unbounded EXT Payload Allocation
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.60% (FIRST EPSS).
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- Fixed version: org.msgpack:msgpack-core (Maven) 0.9.11.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to org.msgpack:msgpack-core (Maven) 0.9.11 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
MessagePack for Java is a serializer implementation for Java. A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in versions prior to 0.9.11 when deserializing .msgpack files containing EXT32 objects with attacker-controlled payload lengths. While MessagePack-Java parses extension headers lazily, it later trusts the declared EXT payload length when materializing the extension data. When ExtensionValue.getData() is invoked, the library attempts to allocate a byte array of the declared length without enforcing any upper bound. A malicious .msgpack file of only a few bytes can therefore trigger unbounded heap allocation, resulting in JVM heap exhaustion, process termination, or service unavailability. This vulnerability is triggered during model loading / deserialization, making it a model format vulnerability suitable for remote exploitation. The vulnerability enables a remote denial-of-service attack against applications that deserialize untrusted .msgpack model files using MessagePack for Java. A specially crafted but syntactically valid .msgpack file containing an EXT32 object with an attacker-controlled, excessively large payload length can trigger unbounded memory allocation during deserialization. When the model file is loaded, the library trusts the declared length metadata and attempts to allocate a byte array of that size, leading to rapid heap exhaustion, excessive garbage collection, or immediate JVM termination with an OutOfMemoryError. The attack requires no malformed bytes, user interaction, or elevated privileges and can be exploited remotely in real-world environments such as model registries, inference services, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud-based model hosting platforms that accept or fetch .msgpack artifacts. Because the malicious file is extremely small yet valid, it can bypass basic validation and scanning mechanisms, resulting in complete service unavailability and potential cascading failures in production systems. Version 0.9.11 fixes the vulnerability.
- Published
- Jan 2, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.6% · 49th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-400
Report tools
Action score
30
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.6%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- proof of concept
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 7.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| msgpack | messagepack | cpe:2.3:a:msgpack:messagepack |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- msgpack messagepack0.9.10
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
msgpack msgpack-java
- < 0.9.11affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | msgpack-java | from 0 | — |
| Maven | org.msgpack:msgpack-core | before 0.9.11 | 0.9.11 |
Same product
msgpack: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-57585MessagePack: Out-of-bounds read/crash on Unpacker reuse after caught error30Monitor
- CVE-2026-54522MessagePack::Buffer#clear Use-After-Free that Enables Cross-Buffer Disclosure8Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maven:org.msgpack:msgpack-core | 0.9.11 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-400 · Uncontrolled Resource ConsumptionCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-secondary
Root cause
Code that parses nested structures sets no depth or size limit. A small input can turn into a disproportionate processing load.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-400 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
function expand(node) {
return node.children.map(expand);
}Fixed
const MAX_DEPTH = 32;
function expand(node, depth = 0) {
if (depth > MAX_DEPTH) throw new Error("too deep");
return node.children.map((c) => expand(c, depth + 1));
}Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Show all references (1 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.