diff --git a/giraph-debugger/pom.xml b/giraph-debugger/pom.xml
index 628df6a49..bf9c970db 100644
--- a/giraph-debugger/pom.xml
+++ b/giraph-debugger/pom.xml
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ under the License.
     <project.build.targetJdk>1.7</project.build.targetJdk>
 
     <dep.commons-lang.version>2.4</dep.commons-lang.version>
-    <dep.protobuf.version>2.5.0</dep.protobuf.version>
+    <dep.protobuf.version>3.16.3</dep.protobuf.version>
     <dep.javassist.version>3.18.1-GA</dep.javassist.version>
     <dep.velocity.version>1.7</dep.velocity.version>