GHSA-H84G-69H7-MW6V
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-08-14 19:29 – Updated: 2026-08-14 19:29Impact
Prior to version 0.6.0, mchange-commons-java includes a JNDI ObjectFactory implementation (com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory) willing to construct objects of arbitrary classes and initialize "JavaBean"-style properties. There are classes for which this kind of initialization is unsafe. For example, setting the "contentType" property of a Swing JEditorPane to text/html and the "text" property to HTML containing a stylesheet <link> will provoke an HTTP GET on an arbitrary URL, potentially from within a trusted security domain. This issue is aggravated by mchange-commons-java's ReferenceIndirector, by which malicious JNDI Reference objects could be smuggled in for dereferencing by applications anywhere a Java-serialized object might be read.
Prior to version 0.5.0, the same mchange-commons-java ObjectFactory would interpret BinaryRefAddress elements as Java-serialized objects, and deserialize unexpected objects that potentially execute malicious behavior on initialization. Although this author is unaware of any code within mchange-commons-java itself that can be abused to execute code on deserialization, this mechanism can be used to trigger well-known "deserialization gadget chains" involving other libraries. For example, in JVMs prior to Java 16 with Apache libraries commons-beanutils and commons-collections on the application CLASSPATH, objects can be crafted that will execute arbitrary commands on deserialization. (Thanks to Valerio Mulas for a proof-of-concept.)
Patches
mchange-commons-java v0.5.0 eliminates all support for deserializing Java objects in com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory, unless an application explicitly extends that class to restore it. This prevents mchange-commons-java from enabling JNDI injection to trigger common "deserialization gadgets".
mchange-commons-java v0.6.0 imposes a whitelist upon what classes com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory consents to materialize, preventing the use of maliciously constructed Reference instances to initialize arbitrary, potentially malicious, objects.
mchange-commons-java v0.6.0 disables the ReferenceIndirector mechanism by default. This mechanism has been abused by attackers to inject dangerous JNDI Reference objects by causing an application to deserialize a malicious Java-serialized object. (The functionality remains for applications that need it, gated behind a restrictive configuration parameter. This is "defense-in-depth"; the hardening of JavaBeanObjectFactory on its own should be sufficient to prevent known Reference-based attacks. But perhaps there are other insecure ObjectFactory implementations on the CLASSPATH or vulnerabilities as-yet-unknown.)
Workarounds
Upgrading to the current version of mchange-commons-java is strongly recommended. Most applications that install mchange-commons-java do so to support the c3p0 JDBC Connection pooling library. When upgrading mchange-commons-java, be sure to update c3p0 as well, or better yet, upgrade to c3p0 >=v0.14.0 and bring in a patched mchange-commons-java transitively.
Maintaining rigorous serialization filters can prevent many attacks (but not attacks requiring only construction of a named class and initialization of simple JavaBeans properties, as described for JEditorPane above).
The vulnerabilities that this advisory addresses all begin with arranging for an application to lookup a malicious JNDI Reference or deserialize a malicious Java-serialized object. Assiduously preventing an application from ever encountering such a Reference or serialized object is hypothetically a workaround. But relying upon perfection is usually bad planning.
The most common known attacks rely upon JVM-internal XSLT code that has been made inaccessible on Java 16 and beyond. Running on a more recent JVM is a mitigating workaround.
Resources
The vulnerabilities and security upgrades are documented in c3p0's manual. Please see c3p0's Security Note and Configuring Security.
Credits
mchange-commons-java thanks 4ra1n and unam4 on Github for a proof-of-concept.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Maven",
"name": "com.mchange:mchange-commons-java"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "0.6.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-55153"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-470"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-08-14T19:29:20Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-07-01T21:17:03Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "### Impact\nPrior to version 0.6.0, mchange-commons-java includes a JNDI `ObjectFactory` implementation (`com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory`) willing to construct objects of arbitrary classes and initialize \"JavaBean\"-style properties. There are classes for which this kind of initialization is unsafe. For example, setting the \"contentType\" property of a Swing `JEditorPane` to `text/html` and the \"text\" property to HTML containing a stylesheet \u0026lt;link\u0026gt; will provoke an HTTP GET on an arbitrary URL, potentially from within a trusted security domain. This issue is aggravated by mchange-commons-java\u0027s `ReferenceIndirector`, by which malicious JNDI `Reference` objects could be smuggled in for dereferencing by applications anywhere a Java-serialized object might be read. \n\nPrior to version 0.5.0, the same mchange-commons-java `ObjectFactory` would interpret `BinaryRefAddress` elements as Java-serialized objects, and deserialize unexpected objects that potentially execute malicious behavior on initialization. Although this author is unaware of any code within mchange-commons-java itself that can be abused to execute code on deserialization, this mechanism can be used to trigger well-known \"deserialization gadget chains\" involving other libraries. For example, in JVMs prior to Java 16 with Apache libraries [`commons-beanutils`](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-beanutils/) and [`commons-collections`](https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-collections/) on the application `CLASSPATH`, [objects can be crafted](https://gist.github.com/frohoff/9eb8811761ff989b3ac0) that will execute arbitrary commands on deserialization. (Thanks to Valerio Mulas for a proof-of-concept.)\n\n### Patches\nmchange-commons-java v0.5.0 eliminates all support for deserializing Java objects in `com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory`, unless an application explicitly extends that class to restore it. This prevents mchange-commons-java from enabling JNDI injection to trigger common \"deserialization gadgets\".\n\nmchange-commons-java v0.6.0 imposes a whitelist upon what classes `com.mchange.v2.naming.JavaBeanObjectFactory` consents to materialize, preventing the use of maliciously constructed `Reference` instances to initialize arbitrary, potentially malicious, objects.\n\nmchange-commons-java v0.6.0 disables the `ReferenceIndirector` mechanism by default. This mechanism has been abused by attackers to inject dangerous JNDI `Reference` objects by causing an application to deserialize a malicious Java-serialized object. (The functionality remains for applications that need it, gated behind a restrictive configuration parameter. This is \"defense-in-depth\"; the hardening of `JavaBeanObjectFactory` on its own should be sufficient to prevent known `Reference`-based attacks. But perhaps there are other insecure `ObjectFactory` implementations on the `CLASSPATH` or vulnerabilities as-yet-unknown.)\n\n### Workarounds\nUpgrading to the current version of mchange-commons-java is strongly recommended. Most applications that install mchange-commons-java do so to support the c3p0 JDBC Connection pooling library. When upgrading mchange-commons-java, be sure to update c3p0 as well, or better yet, upgrade to c3p0 \u003e=v0.14.0 and bring in a patched mchange-commons-java transitively.\n\nMaintaining rigorous serialization filters can prevent many attacks (but not attacks requiring only construction of a named class and initialization of simple JavaBeans properties, as described for `JEditorPane` above).\n\nThe vulnerabilities that this advisory addresses all begin with arranging for an application to lookup a malicious JNDI `Reference` or deserialize a malicious Java-serialized object. Assiduously preventing an application from ever encountering such a `Reference` or serialized object is hypothetically a workaround. But relying upon perfection is usually bad planning.\n\nThe most common known attacks rely upon JVM-internal XSLT code that has been made inaccessible on Java 16 and beyond. Running on a more recent JVM is a mitigating workaround.\n\n### Resources\nThe vulnerabilities and security upgrades are documented in c3p0\u0027s manual. Please see c3p0\u0027s [Security Note](https://www.mchange.com/projects/c3p0/#security-note) and [Configuring Security](https://www.mchange.com/projects/c3p0/#configuring_security).\n\n### Credits\nmchange-commons-java thanks 4ra1n and unam4 on Github for a proof-of-concept.",
"id": "GHSA-h84g-69h7-mw6v",
"modified": "2026-08-14T19:29:20Z",
"published": "2026-08-14T19:29:20Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/swaldman/mchange-commons-java/security/advisories/GHSA-h84g-69h7-mw6v"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55153"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/swaldman/mchange-commons-java"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "mchange-commons-java contains elements susceptible to abuse via JNDI injection and \"deserialization gadgets\""
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.