CVE-2021-36090 | Apache Commons Compress 1.0 to 1.20 denial of service vulnerability

When reading a specially crafted ZIP archive, Compress can be made to allocate large amounts of memory that finally leads to an out of memory error even for very small inputs. This could be used to mount a denial of service attack against services that use Compress' zip package.

Published: 2021-07-13 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-36090 is rated Moderate Risk (55.7/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.74%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-36090

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-27 0.59% 0.74% +0.14%
2 2026-03-04 0.21% 0.59% +0.39%
3 2026-03-01 0.21%

Full EPSS history (39 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-36090

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-36090

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-36090

GHSA-mc84-pj99-q6hh · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency in Compress

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-36090

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2021-36090 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libcommons-compress-java), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 4, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2021-36090
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-36090
suse high CVE-2021-36090 severity important: SUSE including 11 source package names (3.3.2-2.3:apache-commons-compress-1.21-3.3.1, 5.0.0-beta1.2.122:apache-commons-compress-1.21-3.3.1, …), 31 product×package rows across 27 product lines (Container containers/apache-pulsar, Container suse/manager/5.0/x86_64/server, … (27 product lines)): Fixed 31. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-36090/
ubuntu medium CVE-2021-36090 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libcommons-compress-java), 16 status rows across 16 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 8, needs-triage 7, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2021-36090

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-36090

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache commons_compress >= 1.0, < 1.21 cpe:2.3:a:apache:commons_compress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_apis >= 18.1, <= 18.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_apis 19.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_apis 19.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:19.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_apis 20.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_apis 21.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_apis:21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_digital_experience >= 18.1, <= 18.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_digital_experience 19.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_digital_experience 19.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:19.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_digital_experience 20.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_digital_experience 21.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_enterprise_default_management 2.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_enterprise_default_management:2.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_party_management 2.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_party_management:2.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_payments 14.5 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_payments:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_platform 2.6.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_platform:2.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_platform 2.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_platform:2.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_platform 2.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_platform:2.9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_platform 2.12.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_platform:2.12.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_trade_finance 14.5 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_trade_finance:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle banking_treasury_management 14.5 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_treasury_management:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle business_process_management_suite 12.2.1.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:business_process_management_suite:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle business_process_management_suite 12.2.1.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:business_process_management_suite:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle commerce_guided_search 11.3.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:commerce_guided_search:11.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_billing_and_revenue_management 12.0.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_billing_and_revenue_management:12.0.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_cloud_native_core_automated_test_suite 1.8.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_automated_test_suite:1.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_cloud_native_core_service_communication_proxy 1.14.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_service_communication_proxy:1.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_cloud_native_core_unified_data_repository 1.14.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_unified_data_repository:1.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_diameter_intelligence_hub >= 8.0.0, <= 8.2.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_intelligence_hub:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_diameter_intelligence_hub 8.2.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_intelligence_hub:8.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_element_manager >= 8.2.0, <= 8.2.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_element_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_session_report_manager >= 8.2.0, <= 8.2.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_session_report_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_session_route_manager >= 8.0.0, <= 8.2.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_session_route_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_unified_inventory_management 7.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_unified_inventory_management:7.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_unified_inventory_management 7.4.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_unified_inventory_management:7.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_unified_inventory_management 7.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_unified_inventory_management:7.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_unified_inventory_management 7.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_unified_inventory_management:7.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_analytical_applications_infrastructure >= 8.0.6, <= 8.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_analytical_applications_infrastructure:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio 8.0.8.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio:8.0.8.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio 8.0.8.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio:8.0.8.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_enterprise_case_management cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_enterprise_case_management:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_enterprise_case_management 8.0.7.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_enterprise_case_management:8.0.7.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle financial_services_enterprise_case_management 8.0.8.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_enterprise_case_management:8.0.8.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle flexcube_universal_banking >= 14.0.0, <= 14.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle flexcube_universal_banking 12.4 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:12.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle flexcube_universal_banking 14.5 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle healthcare_data_repository 8.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:healthcare_data_repository:8.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.2.8 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools 8.57 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.57:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools 8.58 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.58:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools 8.59 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_gateway >= 17.12.0, <= 17.12.11 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_gateway >= 18.8.0, <= 18.8.12 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_gateway >= 19.12.0, <= 19.12.11 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_gateway >= 20.12.0, <= 20.12.7 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_gateway:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_unifier >= 17.7, <= 17.12 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_unifier:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_unifier 18.8 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_unifier:18.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_unifier 19.12 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_unifier:19.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle primavera_unifier 20.12 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_unifier:20.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle utilities_testing_accelerator 6.0.0.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:utilities_testing_accelerator:6.0.0.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle utilities_testing_accelerator 6.0.0.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:utilities_testing_accelerator:6.0.0.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle utilities_testing_accelerator 6.0.0.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:utilities_testing_accelerator:6.0.0.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle webcenter_portal 12.2.1.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:webcenter_portal:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle webcenter_portal 12.2.1.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:webcenter_portal:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_messaging_server 8.1 cpe:2.3:o:oracle:communications_messaging_server:8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:linux:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
netapp active_iq_unified_manager cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*
netapp oncommand_insight cpe:2.3:a:netapp:oncommand_insight:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-36090

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/07/13/4 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/07/13/6 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-compress/security-reports.html Vendor Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0e87177f8e78b4ee453cd4d3d8f4ddec6f10d2c27707dd71e12cafc9%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r25f4c44616045085bc3cf901bb7e68e445eee53d1966fc08998fc456%40%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3227b1287e5bd8db6523b862c22676b046ad8f4fc96433225f46a2bd%40%3Cissues.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4f03c5de923e3f2a8c316248681258125140514ef3307bfe1538e1ab%40%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r54049b66afbca766b6763c7531e9fe7a20293a112bcb65462a134949%40%3Ccommits.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r67ef3c07fe3b8c1b02d48012149d280ad6da8e4cec253b527520fb2b%40%3Cdev.poi.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r75ffc7a461e7e7ae77690fa75bd47bb71365c732e0fbcc44da4f8ff5%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9a23d4dbf4e34d498664080bff59f2893b855eb16dae33e4aa92fa53%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9f54c0caa462267e0cc68b49f141e91432b36b23348d18c65bd0d040%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rab292091eadd1ecc63c516e9541a7f241091cf2e652b8185a6059945%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/racd0c0381c8404f298b226cd9db2eaae965b14c9c568224aa3f437ae%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb064d705fdfa44b5dae4c366b369ef6597951083196321773b983e71%40%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb5fa2ee61828fa2e42361b58468717e84902dd71c4aea8dc0b865df7%40%3Cnotifications.james.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb6e1fa80d34e5ada45f72655d84bfd90db0ca44ef19236a49198c88c%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb7adf3e55359819e77230b4586521e5c6874ce5ed93384bdc14d6aee%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rba65ed5ddb0586f5b12598f55ec7db3633e7b7fede60466367fbf86a%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbbf42642c3e4167788a7c13763d192ee049604d099681f765385d99d%40%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbe91c512c5385181149ab087b6c909825d34299f5c491c6482a2ed57%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc4134026d7d7b053d4f9f2205531122732405012c8804fd850a9b26f%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E Vendor Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rc7df4c2f0bbe2028a1498a46d322c91184f7a369e3e4c57d9518cacf%40%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd4332baaf6debd03d60deb7ec93bee49e5fdbe958cb6800dff7fb00e%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rdd5412a5b9a25aed2a02c3317052d38a97128314d50bc1ed36e81d38%40%3Cuser.ant.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf2f4d7940371a7c7c5b679f50e28fc7fcc82cd00670ced87e013ac88%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf3f0a09fee197168a813966c5816157f6c600a47313a0d6813148ea6%40%3Cissues.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf93b6bb267580e01deb7f3696f7eaca00a290c66189a658cf7230a1a%40%3Cissues.drill.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfba19167efc785ad3561e7ef29f340d65ac8f0d897aed00e0731e742%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211022-0001/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Third Party Advisory
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