Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Unauthenticated low-complexity network reach to an RMI endpoint gives AV:N/AC:L/PR:N; impact is availability-only memory exhaustion (A:H) with no confidentiality or integrity effect.
Primary rating from Vendor (GitHub_M).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
7Blast Radius
ecosystem impact- 3 maven packages depend on io.opentelemetry.javaagent:opentelemetry-javaagent (3 direct, 0 indirect)
Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 2.27.0.
DescriptionNVD
OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation provides OpenTelemetry auto-instrumentation and instrumentation libraries for Java. In versions prior to 2.27.0, the RMI context propagation payload reader limits the number of context entries but does not limit the aggregate size of the strings read from the stream. An attacker who can reach an RMI endpoint on an instrumented JVM can send an oversized context propagation payload. This can cause excessive memory allocation while the JVM reads the payload, potentially leading to denial of service. The issue affects only deployments where RMI instrumentation is enabled and an RMI endpoint is network-reachable. This issue has been fixed in version 2.27.0.
AnalysisAI
Denial of service in OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation before 2.27.0 lets an attacker who can reach an RMI endpoint on an instrumented JVM send an oversized context-propagation payload that triggers excessive memory allocation. The RMI payload reader caps the number of context entries but never bounds the aggregate size of the strings it reads, so a single crafted request can exhaust heap and crash or stall the JVM. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, EPSS is low (0.24%), and CISA SSVC records no observed exploitation, but the flaw is network-reachable and unauthenticated wherever RMI instrumentation is enabled and exposed.
Technical ContextAI
OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation is the auto-instrumentation agent and library set that transparently adds tracing and metrics to Java applications, including an RMI (Java Remote Method Invocation) module that reads and writes OpenTelemetry context across remote calls. The vulnerable code is the RMI context-propagation payload reader: it enforces a limit on the count of context entries but applies no limit on the cumulative size of the strings deserialized from the stream, an instance of CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption). Because the reader allocates memory proportional to attacker-controlled string lengths before any total-size check, a large payload forces unbounded heap allocation on the receiving JVM. The affected component is cpe:2.3:a:open-telemetry:opentelemetry-java-instrumentation, versions prior to 2.27.0.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: 2.27.0 - upgrade the OpenTelemetry Java agent/instrumentation dependency to 2.27.0 or later, which adds an aggregate size limit on strings read from the RMI context-propagation payload; see GHSA-fq3f-m5qm-99f5 (https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/security/advisories/GHSA-fq3f-m5qm-99f5). Where an immediate upgrade is not possible, reduce exposure by disabling the RMI instrumentation module so the vulnerable reader is never invoked (trade-off: loss of trace context propagation across RMI calls), and by restricting network access to RMI endpoints via firewall or security-group rules or binding RMI to loopback/internal interfaces only (trade-off: breaks legitimate remote RMI clients that must reach the endpoint). As defense against memory exhaustion, ensure JVM heap limits and out-of-memory restart or health-check policies are in place so a triggered DoS is contained and recovers.
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Same weakness CWE-400 – Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
View allSame technique Denial Of Service
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-41152
GHSA-fq3f-m5qm-99f5