Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency in Compress
When reading a specially crafted TAR 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' tar package.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.apache.commons:commons-compress | < 1.21 | 1.21 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-35517
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211022-0001
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfba19167efc785ad3561e7ef29f340d65ac8f0d897aed00e0731e742@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd4332baaf6debd03d60deb7ec93bee49e5fdbe958cb6800dff7fb00e@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rba65ed5ddb0586f5b12598f55ec7db3633e7b7fede60466367fbf86a@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb7adf3e55359819e77230b4586521e5c6874ce5ed93384bdc14d6aee@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb6e1fa80d34e5ada45f72655d84bfd90db0ca44ef19236a49198c88c@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb064d705fdfa44b5dae4c366b369ef6597951083196321773b983e71@%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/racd0c0381c8404f298b226cd9db2eaae965b14c9c568224aa3f437ae@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra393ffdc7c90a4a37ea023946f390285693795013a642d80fba20203@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9f54c0caa462267e0cc68b49f141e91432b36b23348d18c65bd0d040@%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r67ef3c07fe3b8c1b02d48012149d280ad6da8e4cec253b527520fb2b@%3Cdev.poi.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r605d906b710b95f1bbe0036a53ac6968f667f2c249b6fbabada9a940%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r54afdab05e01de970649c2d91a993f68a6b00cd73e6e34e16c832d46@%3Cuser.ant.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r457b2ed564860996b20d938566fe8bd4bfb7c37be8e205448ccb5975@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r31f75743ac173b0a606f8ea6ea53f351f386c44e7bcf78ae04007c29@%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
- https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-compress/security-reports.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/07/13/3
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/07/13/5
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-130, CWE-770- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.apache.commons:commons-compress- Disclosed
- 02.08.2021
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-xqfj-vm6h-2x34 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.apache.commons:commons-compress
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 11
- First → latest
- 10.2018 02.2024
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- High 5
- Medium 6
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 2
- 2020: 0
- 2021: 4
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 2
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 0
-
Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency in Compress this entry
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