CVE-2022-3509 | Parsing issue in protobuf textformat

A parsing issue similar to CVE-2022-3171, but with textformat 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: 2022-12-12 Last update: 2025-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-3509 is rated Moderate Risk (41/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). 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-2022-3509

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 2025-11-21 0.18% 0.12% -0.06%
2 2025-11-18 0.13% 0.18% +0.05%
3 2025-03-30 — 0.13% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-3509

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]
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-2022-3509

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-3509

GHSA-g5ww-5jh7-63cx · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Protobuf Java vulnerable to Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-3509

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-3509 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-2022-3509
gentoo low CVE-2022-3509: 1 GLSA(s) (202301-09), 1 atom(s) (dev-java/protobuf-java); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-3509
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-3509
suse high CVE-2022-3509 severity important: SUSE including 19 source package names (libprotobuf-lite15, libprotobuf-lite20, …), 141 product×package rows across 42 product lines (SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0, SUSE Enterprise Storage 6, … (42 product lines)): Known Not Affected 141. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-3509/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-3509 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (protobuf), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, kinetic, lunar, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 5, ignored 2, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-3509

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-3509

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
google protobuf-java >= 3.16.0, < 3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:google:protobuf-java:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
google protobuf-java >= 3.19.0, < 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 >= 3.16.0, < 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:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-3509

cvelogic Threat Intelligence