Is this vulnerability remotely exploitable over the network?

Yes, provided the JMX/RMI management port of the instrumented JVM is network-reachable, an attacker can remotely send crafted serialized data to the vulnerable RMI endpoint.

What level of access does an attacker need to exploit this issue?

The attacker needs the ability to establish a network connection to the configured JMX/RMI port on a JVM running OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation on JDK 16 or earlier, and the application classpath must include a suitable gadget chain.

What is the safest general fix pattern for this type of vulnerability?

The safest pattern is to eliminate Java native deserialization of untrusted input entirely, replacing it with safer data formats, and to avoid introducing remote endpoints that rely on Java serialization. Where deserialization cannot be removed, enforce strict serialization filters and ensure management interfaces are not exposed to untrusted networks.

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.8)

Unsafe RMI Deserialization (CWE-502) in OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation

CVE-2026-33701

Published:

Mar 26, 2026

Status:

Analyzed

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

Recent Vulnerabilities

CWE-77;CWE-78

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in Totolink A7100RU setGameSpeedCfg CGI Handler

Remote Code Execution on the Router

April 6, 2026

CWE-77;CWE-78

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in Totolink A7100RU setFirewallType Handler

Remote Code Execution on Router Firmware

April 6, 2026

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Unsafe Deserialization

CWE:

CWE-502

Impact:

Remote Code Execution

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.8)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Unsafe Deserialization

CWE:

CWE-502

Impact:

Remote Code Execution

Severity:

CRITICAL RISK

(9.8)

CVSS Version:

3.1

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355 Bryant St. San Francisco, CA 94107, USA

Ask AI for summary of CodeAnt

Unsafe RMI Deserialization (CWE-502) in OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in Totolink A7100RU setGameSpeedCfg CGI Handler

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(7.3)

OS Command Injection (CWE-78) in Totolink A7100RU setFirewallType Handler

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

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