Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2023-46604

Apache ActiveMQ Deserialization

Apache ActiveMQ · affected before 5.18.3

Watch CVE-2023-46604 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 10.0 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
99.9%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2023-46604 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Apache ActiveMQ, Apache ActiveMQ Legacy OpenWire Module. The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed. Listed in CISA KEV.

Who is affected?

Apache ActiveMQ affected before 5.18.3.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution

The Java OpenWire protocol marshaller is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution. This vulnerability may allow a remote attacker with network access to either a Java-based OpenWire broker or client to run arbitrary shell commands by manipulating serialized class types in the OpenWire protocol to cause either the client or the broker (respectively) to instantiate any class on the classpath.

Users are recommended to upgrade both brokers and clients to version 5.15.16, 5.16.7, 5.17.6, or 5.18.3 which fixes this issue.

Apache Software Foundation Affected
Before 5.18.3 Before 5.17.6 Before 5.16.7 Before 5.15.16
Apache Software Foundation Affected
Apache ActiveMQ Legacy OpenWire Module org.apache.activemq:activemq-openwire-legacy
Before 5.18.3 Before 5.17.6 Before 5.16.7 Before 5.15.16
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
27 Oct 2023
Exploitation Reported
02 Nov 2023
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

metasploit nuclei_scanner java apache cisa ransomware malware

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 02 Nov 2023

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Used in malware

CISA

Recorded 02 Nov 2023

Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 03 Nov 2023

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2023-11-02 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/misc/apache_activemq_rce_cve_2023_46604.rb 28 Apr 2025
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/javascript/cves/2023/CVE-2023-46604.yaml 25 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

10.0 Critical

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H

EPSS

99.9%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Deserialization of Untrusted Data CWE-502

Recent mention · Huntress Blog

Privilege Hygiene: Least Privilege Best Practices Guide

Learn what good privilege hygiene looks like, from local admin sprawl to accidental access, plus least privilege best practices you can start today.

Read full advisory

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

Apache ActiveMQ - Remote Code Execution

nuclei · Created Unknown

apache_activemq_rce_cve_2023_46604

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2023-46604

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 15:02 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  2. 15:02 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  3. 00:00 UTC

    Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  4. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  5. 00:00 UTC

    First public exploitation report

    Exploit observed in malware

  6. 14:59 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  7. 08:55 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-46604

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2023-46604",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 10.0,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.99891,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}