XStream is vulnerable to an Arbitrary File Deletion on the local host when unmarshalling
x-stream · xstream
SummaryAI-written · claude-haiku-5-5AI-written · claude-haiku-5-5Written by a language model from the source data on this page. Not reviewed by a person. Generated 29 Oct 2026.
XStream, a Java library for serializing objects to XML and back, contains an arbitrary file deletion flaw during unmarshalling that affects versions before 1.4.15 and is reachable through the processed input stream. A remote attacker who can supply crafted input to an affected deserialization path can delete arbitrary files on the host, provided the executing process has sufficient rights and the attack is not possible on Java 15 or higher, nor where a whitelist-based Security Framework is configured.
Official description · CVE.orgSource dataSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. Copied from CVE.org.
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.
Priority scorePatchfirst’s 0 to 100 ranking. It adds points for CISA KEV listing, ransomware use, EPSS, threat reports, public exploit code and CVSS. Every CVE page shows the breakdown.Breakdown
29.7 / 100
Exploited
Not confirmed
Reports
0
Tactics
0/15
Exploitation timelineDated milestones for a CVE: when it was disclosed, when exploit code became public, when exploitation was confirmed, and when threat reports named it.
Public exploit code (PoC-in-GitHub) was available 3 days before disclosure.
Patch historyEarlier and later CVEs in the same code, in date order. It shows when a fix was bypassed or incomplete and which version finally fixed it.
7 fixes in xstream over 20 months. The latest fix listed for xstream is 1.4.16.
Fixes in xstreamMaven package, by fixed version. Earlier and later fixes in the same package, not necessarily the same bug.
MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. techniques
No techniques linked
No ATT&CK techniques are linked to this CVE yet. MITRE CTID has not mapped it, and no report passage in the corpus ties it to a technique.
Am I affected? What do I upgrade to?
From GitHub Security Advisories and OSVSourceSource dataCopied from an authoritative feed: NVD, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS or MITRE CTID mappings, or labelled by the annotators of a published dataset. GitHub Security Advisories and OSV.
1 package in 1 ecosystem. Main package: com.thoughtworks.xstream:xstream.