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CRITICAL

OpenTelemetry: Unsafe Deserialization in RMI Instrumentation may Lead to Remote Code Execution

Published Mar 27, 2026

Description

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.

Affected products

Remediation

Red Hat mitigation

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

References (9)

Change history (0)

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Sources
CVE.org / MITRE
Status PUBLISHED
Assigner GitHub_M
Published Mar 27, 2026
Updated Aug 17, 2026
Reserved Mar 23, 2026
CISA Vulnrichment
Updated Mar 27, 2026
NVD
Status Modified
Modified Aug 4, 2026
Red Hat
Severity Important
Public date Mar 27, 2026
GHSA-XW7X-H9FJ-P2C7