CVE-2021-35515

CVE-2021-35515 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Commons Compress with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 12% places it in the 96th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-835.

Key facts

• Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
• CVSS v2: 5.0
• EPSS exploit prediction: 12% (96th percentile)
• Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
• Weakness: CWE-835
• Affected product: Apache Commons Compress
• Published: 2021-07-13
• Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

When reading a specially crafted 7Z archive, the construction of the list of codecs that decompress an entry can result in an infinite loop. This could be used to mount a denial of service attack against services that use Compress' sevenz package.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-35515?

When reading a specially crafted 7Z archive, the construction of the list of codecs that decompress an entry can result in an infinite loop. This could be used to mount a denial of service attack against services that use Compress' sevenz package.

How severe is CVE-2021-35515?

CVE-2021-35515 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2021-35515 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 12% (96th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2021-35515?

CVE-2021-35515 primarily affects Apache Commons Compress. In total, 47 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2021-35515?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2021-35515 published?

CVE-2021-35515 was published on 2021-07-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/07/13/1
• https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-compress/security-reports.html
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r19ebfd71770ec0617a9ea180e321ef927b3fefb4c81ec5d1902d20ab%40%3Cuser.commons.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r67ef3c07fe3b8c1b02d48012149d280ad6da8e4cec253b527520fb2b%40%3Cdev.poi.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9f54c0caa462267e0cc68b49f141e91432b36b23348d18c65bd0d040%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rab292091eadd1ecc63c516e9541a7f241091cf2e652b8185a6059945%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/racd0c0381c8404f298b226cd9db2eaae965b14c9c568224aa3f437ae%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb064d705fdfa44b5dae4c366b369ef6597951083196321773b983e71%40%3Ccommits.pulsar.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb6e1fa80d34e5ada45f72655d84bfd90db0ca44ef19236a49198c88c%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb7adf3e55359819e77230b4586521e5c6874ce5ed93384bdc14d6aee%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rba65ed5ddb0586f5b12598f55ec7db3633e7b7fede60466367fbf86a%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbaea15ddc5a7c0c6b66660f1d6403b28595e2561bb283eade7d7cd69%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rbe91c512c5385181149ab087b6c909825d34299f5c491c6482a2ed57%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rd4332baaf6debd03d60deb7ec93bee49e5fdbe958cb6800dff7fb00e%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf2f4d7940371a7c7c5b679f50e28fc7fcc82cd00670ced87e013ac88%40%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E
• https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rfba19167efc785ad3561e7ef29f340d65ac8f0d897aed00e0731e742%40%3Cnotifications.skywalking.apache.org%3E
• https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211022-0001/
• https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
• https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.html
• https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.html
• https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html

Affected products (47)

• cpe:2.3:a:apache:commons_compress:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:linux:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:netapp:oncommand_insight:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:19.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_digital_experience:21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_enterprise_default_management:2.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_party_management:2.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_payments:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_trade_finance:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_treasury_management:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:business_process_management_suite:12.2.1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:business_process_management_suite:12.2.1.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:commerce_guided_search:11.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_billing_and_revenue_management:12.0.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_automated_test_suite:1.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_service_communication_proxy:1.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_unified_data_repository:1.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_intelligence_hub:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_session_route_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio:8.0.8.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_crime_and_compliance_management_studio:8.0.8.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_enterprise_case_management:8.0.7.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:financial_services_enterprise_case_management:8.0.8.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:12.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_universal_banking:14.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:healthcare_data_repository:8.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.57:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.58:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:peoplesoft_enterprise_peopletools:8.59:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
• cpe:2.3:a:oracle:primavera_unifier:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Apache Commons Compress

• CVE-2024-25710 — High (CVSS 8.1): Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') vulnerability in Apache Commons Compress.This issue affects…
• CVE-2021-36090 — High (CVSS 7.5): When reading a specially crafted ZIP archive, Compress can be made to allocate large amounts of memory that finally…
• CVE-2021-35517 — High (CVSS 7.5): When reading a specially crafted TAR archive, Compress can be made to allocate large amounts of memory that finally…
• CVE-2021-35516 — High (CVSS 7.5): When reading a specially crafted 7Z archive, Compress can be made to allocate large amounts of memory that finally…
• CVE-2019-12402 — High (CVSS 7.5): The file name encoding algorithm used internally in Apache Commons Compress 1.15 to 1.18 can get into an infinite loop…
• CVE-2024-26308 — Medium (CVSS 5.5): Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling vulnerability in Apache Commons Compress.This issue affects Apache…

All CVEs affecting Apache Commons Compress →

Other CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition (Infinite Loop)) vulnerabilities

• CVE-2026-24816 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') vulnerability in datavane tis…
• CVE-2018-20784 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In the Linux kernel before 4.20.2, kernel/sched/fair.c mishandles leaf cfs_rq's, which allows attackers to cause a…
• CVE-2017-12997 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The LLDP parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 could enter an infinite loop due to a bug in…
• CVE-2017-12995 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The DNS parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 could enter an infinite loop due to a bug in print-domain.c:ns_print().
• CVE-2017-12990 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The ISAKMP parser in tcpdump before 4.9.2 could enter an infinite loop due to bugs in print-isakmp.c, several functions.
• CVE-2026-31448 — Critical (CVSS 9.4): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: avoid infinite loops caused by residual…

Browse all CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition (Infinite Loop)) vulnerabilities →