CVE-2022-3510 | Parsing issue in protobuf message-type extension

A parsing issue similar to CVE-2022-3171, but with Message-Type Extensions 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]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-3510 is rated Low Risk (36/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Mandatory action: 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-2022-3510

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% 0.06% -0.12%
2 2025-11-18 0.07% 0.18% +0.11%
3 2025-03-30 0.07%

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-3510

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-2022-3510

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-3510

GHSA-4gg5-vx3j-xwc7 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Protobuf Java vulnerable to Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-3510

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-3510 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-2022-3510
gentoo low CVE-2022-3510: 1 GLSA(s) (202301-09), 1 atom(s) (dev-java/protobuf-java); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2022-3510
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-3510
suse high CVE-2022-3510 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-2022-3510/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-3510 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-2022-3510

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-3510

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-2022-3510

cvelogic Threat Intelligence