diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 279b720a..b0a47a6c 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
 
     <properties>
         <project.jdk.version>1.8</project.jdk.version>
-        <protobuf.version>3.4.0</protobuf.version>
+        <protobuf.version>3.16.1</protobuf.version>
         <haystack-commons.version>1.0.65</haystack-commons.version>
 
         <logback.version>1.2.3</logback.version>