CVE-2023-46604

The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker with network access to either a Java-based OpenWire broker or client to run arbitrary shell commands by manipulating serialized class types in the OpenWire protocol to cause either the client or the broker (respectively) to instantiate any class on the classpath. Users are recommended to upgrade both brokers and clients to version 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3 which fixes this issue.

CVSS: 10.0Criticalscored by the publisher (CNA)
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 2 Nov 2023CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 23 Nov 2023known use in ransomware campaignspublic exploit code
EPSS: > 99.9%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.1% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Fixed in 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6per the vendor; 1 more listed below
Published: 27 Oct 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Upgrade to a fixed release: 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, 5.18.3.

Summary

Triage

Attack surface: Server-side
Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: network
Weakness: CWE-502 Insecure Deserialization
Can a WAF block it?: No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Product	Affected versions	Vendor says fixed in
activemqfrom the Bitnami advisory, via OSV	< 5.15.16>= 5.16.0 and < 5.16.7>= 5.17.0 and < 5.17.6>= 5.18.0 and < 5.18.3Vendor says fixed in: 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, 5.18.3	5.15.165.16.75.17.65.18.3
Apache Software Foundation Apache ActiveMQ	>= 5.18.0 and < 5.18.3>= 5.17.0 and < 5.17.6>= 5.16.0 and < 5.16.7< 5.15.16Vendor says fixed in: not stated	Not stated by the vendor
Apache Software Foundation Apache ActiveMQ Legacy OpenWire Module	>= 5.18.0 and < 5.18.3>= 5.17.0 and < 5.17.6>= 5.16.0 and < 5.16.7>= 5.8.0 and < 5.15.16Vendor says fixed in: not stated	Not stated by the vendor

As published in the CVE Program record, and, for products that ship the affected component, in the advisory named beside them. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.

Products named in our analysis

apache:activemq
apache:activemq_legacy_openwire_module
debian:debian_linux
netapp:e-series_santricity_unified_manager
netapp:e-series_santricity_web_services_proxy
netapp:santricity_storage_plugin

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. The attack exploits manipulation of serialized class types in the OpenWire protocol, which is a non-HTTP network protocol. Because it uses a binary protocol and serialized objects, a web application firewall cannot reliably distinguish malicious from normal requests.

Also consider: allow-list classes · patch

Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 2 Nov 2023. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
CISA due date: 23 Nov 2023, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Public exploit code: Yes: 1 Metasploit module · 43 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 4 Feb 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

and 39 more repositories

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

26 Oct 2023First public exploit or proof of concept
27 Oct 2023Published2 days later
2 Nov 2023Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)5 days later
23 Nov 2023CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
4 Feb 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active440 days (about 1 year) later
3 Nov 2025CVE record last updated272 days (about 9 months) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com374 days (about 1 year) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network.	Reachable over the internet or any routable network.
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	NoneNo victim action needed.	No victim action needed.
Scope	ChangedImpact crosses a security boundary into other components.	Impact crosses a security boundary into other components.
Confidentiality	LowPartial data disclosure.	Partial data disclosure.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2023-46604 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-46604 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2023-46604?

CVE-2023-46604 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 10.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2023-46604?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-46604. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2023-46604 affect?

CVE-2023-46604 affects apache:activemq, apache:activemq_legacy_openwire_module, debian:debian_linux, netapp:e-series_santricity_unified_manager, and 2 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

8 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Advisories (1)

activemq.apache.org /security-advisories.data/CVE-2023-46604-announcement.txt

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
Nuclei templates: detection templates
PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
OSV: advisory aliases and downstream package versions

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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