CVE-2020-26259

XStream is vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Deletion on the local host when unmarshalling

MEDIUM
6.8
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

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Severity
MEDIUM6.8
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, is vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Deletion on the local host when unmarshalling. The vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to delete arbitrary know files on the host as log as the executing process has sufficient rights 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 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

6.8MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-78

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