CVE-2022-3171 | Memory handling vulnerability in ProtocolBuffers Java core and lite

A parsing issue with binary data in protobuf-java core and lite versions prior to 3.21.7, 3.20.3, 3.19.6 and 3.16.3 can lead to a denial of service attack. Inputs containing multiple instances of non-repeated embedded messages with repeated or unknown fields causes objects to be converted back-n-forth between mutable and immutable forms, resulting in potentially long garbage collection pauses. We recommend updating to the versions mentioned above.

Published: 2022-10-12 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-3171 is rated Low Risk (30.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.17%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2022-3171

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 2026-06-10 0.11% 0.17% +0.06%
2 2026-05-28 0.17% 0.11% -0.06%
3 2026-05-27 — 0.17% —

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-3171

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
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.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]
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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-3171

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-3171

GHSA-h4h5-3hr4-j3g2 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — protobuf-java has a potential Denial of Service issue

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-3171

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-3171 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (protobuf), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 4, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-3171
gentoo low CVE-2022-3171: 1 GLSA(s) (202301-09), 1 atom(s) (dev-java/protobuf-java); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-3171
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-3171
suse high CVE-2022-3171 severity important: SUSE including 334 source package names (0.23.0.3.2.368:libprotobuf-lite20-3.9.2-150200.4.19.2, 0.58.0.17.143:libprotobuf-lite20-3.9.2-150200.4.19.2, …), 871 product×package rows across 140 product lines (Container bci/bci-init, Container bci/nodejs, … (140 product lines)): Fixed 735, Known Affected 110, Will Not Fix 24, First Fixed 2. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-3171/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-3171 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (protobuf), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 6, not-affected 1, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-3171

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-3171

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
google google-protobuf < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:google-protobuf:*:*:*:*:*:ruby:*:*
google google-protobuf >= 3.17.0, < 3.19.6 cpe:2.3:a:google:google-protobuf:*:*:*:*:*:ruby:*:*
google google-protobuf >= 3.20.0, < 3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:google-protobuf:*:*:*:*:*:ruby:*:*
google google-protobuf >= 3.21.0, < 3.21.7 cpe:2.3:a:google:google-protobuf:*:*:*:*:*:ruby:*:*
google protobuf-java < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-java >= 3.17.0, < 3.19.6 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-java >= 3.20.0, < 3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-java >= 3.21.0, < 3.21.7 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-javalite < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-javalite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-javalite >= 3.17.0, < 3.19.6 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-javalite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-javalite >= 3.20.0, < 3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-javalite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-javalite >= 3.21.0, < 3.21.7 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-javalite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin >= 3.17.0, < 3.19.6 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin >= 3.20.0, < 3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin >= 3.21.0, < 3.21.7 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin-lite < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin-lite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin-lite >= 3.17.0, < 3.19.6 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin-lite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin-lite >= 3.20.0, < 3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin-lite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-kotlin-lite >= 3.21.0, < 3.21.7 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-kotlin-lite:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-3171

cvelogic Threat Intelligence