CVE-2020-26258

Server-Side Forgery Request can be activated unmarshalling with XStream

HIGH
7.7
CVSS Score
Published: December 16, 2020 at 01:05 AM UTC
Updated: October 7, 2026 at 07:17 PM UTC
4 products affected across 4 vendorsDebian LinuxFedoraStruts

Using xstream by x-stream?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect xstream - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
HIGH7.7
Exploit prediction
EPSS 82%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

XStream is a Java library to serialize objects to XML and back again. In XStream before version 1.4.15, a Server-Side Forgery Request vulnerability can be activated when unmarshalling. The vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to request data from internal resources that are not publicly available only by manipulating the processed input stream. If you rely on XStream's default blacklist of the Security Framework, you will have to use at least version 1.4.15. The reported vulnerability does not exist if running Java 15 or higher. No user is affected who followed the recommendation to setup XStream's Security Framework with a whitelist! Anyone relying on XStream's default blacklist can immediately switch to a whilelist for the allowed types to avoid the vulnerability. Users of XStream 1.4.14 or below who still want to use XStream default blacklist can use a workaround described in more detailed in the referenced advisories.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 6.0.0*
Affected range stops below 6.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 1.4.15*
Affected range stops below 1.4.15, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
NONE
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-918

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card