CVE-2022-21700 | Memory leak in micronaut-core

Micronaut is a JVM-based, full stack Java framework designed for building JVM web applications with support for Java, Kotlin and the Groovy language. In affected versions sending an invalid Content Type header leads to memory leak in DefaultArgumentConversionContext as this type is erroneously used in static state. ### Impact Sending an invalid Content Type header leads to memory leak in `DefaultArgumentConversionContext` as this type is erroneously used in static state. ### Patches The problem is patched in Micronaut 3.2.7 and above. ### Workarounds The default content type binder can be replaced in an existing Micronaut application to mitigate the issue: ```java package example; import java.util.List; import io.micronaut.context.annotation.Replaces; import io.micronaut.core.convert.ConversionService; import io.micronaut.http.MediaType; import io.micronaut.http.bind.DefaultRequestBinderRegistry; import io.micronaut.http.bind.binders.RequestArgumentBinder; import jakarta.inject.Singleton; @Singleton @Replaces(DefaultRequestBinderRegistry.class) class FixedRequestBinderRegistry extends DefaultRequestBinderRegistry { public FixedRequestBinderRegistry(ConversionService conversionService, List<RequestArgumentBinder> binders) { super(conversionService, binders); } @Override protected void registerDefaultConverters(ConversionService<?> conversionService) { super.registerDefaultConverters(conversionService); conversionService.addConverter(CharSequence.class, MediaType.class, charSequence -> { try { return MediaType.of(charSequence); } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) { return null; } }); } } ``` ### References Commit that introduced the vulnerability https://github.com/micronaut-projects/micronaut-core/commit/b8ec32c311689667c69ae7d9f9c3b3a8abc96fe3 ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [Micronaut Core](https://github.com/micronaut-projects/micronaut-core/issues) * Email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Published: 2022-01-18 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-21700 is rated Moderate Risk (44/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.15%). 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-2022-21700

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 2026-06-15 0.30% 1.15% +0.84%
2 2025-03-30 0.36% 0.30% -0.06%
3 2025-03-29 0.36%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-21700

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
3.9 1.4 [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-2022-21700

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-21700

GHSA-2457-2263-mm9f · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — Memory leak in micronaut-core

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-21700

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
objectcomputing micronaut < 3.2.7 cpe:2.3:a:objectcomputing:micronaut:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-21700

cvelogic Threat Intelligence