CVE-2021-34371
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Neo4j
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
CVE-2021-34371- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-502
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
CVE-2021-34371- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-2097 No score
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
EUVD-2021-2097- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-pc4w-8v5j-29w9
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Neo4j
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
GHSA-pc4w-8v5j-29w9- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-502
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-pc4w-8v5j-29w9
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Neo4j
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
GHSA-pc4w-8v5j-29w9- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-502
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-neo4j-2021-34371 No score
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
BIT-neo4j-2021-34371- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-neo4j-enterprise-2021-34371 No score
Neo4j through 3.4.18 (with the shell server enabled) exposes an RMI service that arbitrarily deserializes Java objects, e.g., through setSessionVariable. An attacker can abuse this for remote code execution because there are dependencies with exploitable gadget chains.
- Record
BIT-neo4j-enterprise-2021-34371- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
org.neo4j:neo4jMaven |
before 3.5.0 | 3.5.0 |
neo4jBitnami |
before 3.4.19 | 3.4.19 |
neo4j-enterpriseBitnami |
through 3.4.18 | None known |
org.neo4j:neo4jMaven |
before 3.5.0, plus listed versions 1.21.2.M011.2.M021.2.M031.2.M04 Show 45 moreShow less1.2.M051.2.M061.31.3.M011.3.M021.3.M031.3.M041.3.M051.41.4.11.4.21.4.M011.4.M021.4.M031.4.M041.4.M051.4.M061.51.5.11.5.21.5.31.5.M011.5.M021.61.6.11.6.21.6.31.6.M011.6.M021.6.M031.71.7.11.7.21.7.M011.7.M021.7.M031.81.8.11.8.21.8.31.8.M011.8.M021.8.M031.8.M041.8.M05 |
3.5.0 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | tavgar/CVE-2021-34371 | 2025-04-21 |
| PoC in GitHub | zwjjustdoit/CVE-2021-34371.jar | 2021-09-06 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-34371 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Neo4j, published August 5, 2021. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 13.4%, the 96th percentile. Fixed in org.neo4j:neo4j 3.5.0.
References
Left out here: 213 versions. The JSON record has them.