CVE-2026-33701

CriticalCVSS 9.8

Published: 27/03/2026(UTC)Updated: 30/06/2026(UTC)Translated: 01/07/2026(UTC)NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Elevated risk

0.93%

56th percentile - higher than 56% of all known CVEs

Summary

A vulnerability in OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation prior to version 2.26.1 allows remote code execution via deserialization without filters in the RMI integration. The attack requires network access to a JMX/RMI port on a JVM running JDK 16 or earlier and a gadget-chain library on the classpath.

Risk Assessment

The organization risks full compromise of the Java application by a network attacker, potentially leading to data theft, malware installation, or service disruption.

Recommendation

For JDK < 17, upgrade OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation to version 2.26.1 or later immediately. As a workaround, disable the RMI integration by setting the system property `-Dotel.instrumentation.rmi.enabled=false`.

Original NVD description (English source)

OpenTelemetry Java Instrumentation provides OpenTelemetry auto-instrumentation and instrumentation libraries for Java. In versions prior to 2.26.1, the RMI instrumentation registered a custom endpoint that deserialized incoming data without applying serialization filters. On JDK version 16 and earlier, an attacker with network access to a JMX or RMI port on an instrumented JVM could exploit this to potentially achieve remote code execution. All three of the following conditions must be true to exploit this vulnerability: First, OpenTelemetry Java instrumentation is attached as a Java agent (`-javaagent`) on Java 16 or earlier. Second, JMX/RMI port has been explicitly configured via `-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port` and is network-reachable. Third, gadget-chain-compatible library is present on the classpath. This results in arbitrary remote code execution with the privileges of the user running the instrumented JVM. For JDK >= 17, no action is required, but upgrading is strongly encouraged. For JDK < 17, upgrade to version 2.26.1 or later. As a workaround, set the system property `-Dotel.instrumentation.rmi.enabled=false` to disable the RMI integration.