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CVE-2020-1938

Apache Tomcat Improper Privilege Management

9.8 CRITICALActively exploited (CISA KEV)Public exploitEPSS 99.3%
  1. Published24 Feb 2020
  2. Added to CISA KEV3 Mar 2022
  3. Remediation due17 Mar 2022
Actively exploited (CISA KEV)

Apache Tomcat treats Apache JServ Protocol (AJP) connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exploited.

Added to KEV: 3 Mar 2022Federal remediation due: 17 Mar 2022

Description

When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat. Tomcat treats AJP connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exploited in ways that may be surprising. In Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.30, 8.5.0 to 8.5.50 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.99, Tomcat shipped with an AJP Connector enabled by default that listened on all configured IP addresses. It was expected (and recommended in the security guide) that this Connector would be disabled if not required. This vulnerability report identified a mechanism that allowed: - returning arbitrary files from anywhere in the web application - processing any file in the web application as a JSP Further, if the web application allowed file upload and stored those files within the web application (or the attacker was able to control the content of the web application by some other means) then this, along with the ability to process a file as a JSP, made remote code execution possible. It is important to note that mitigation is only required if an AJP port is accessible to untrusted users. Users wishing to take a defence-in-depth approach and block the vector that permits returning arbitrary files and execution as JSP may upgrade to Apache Tomcat 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later. A number of changes were made to the default AJP Connector configuration in 9.0.31 to harden the default configuration. It is likely that users upgrading to 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later will need to make small changes to their configurations.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorNetwork
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredNone
User interactionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Apache Geode1.12.0
Apache Tomcat≥ 7.0.0 < 7.0.100 · ≥ 8.5.0 < 8.5.51 · ≥ 9.0.0 < 9.0.31
Blackberry Good Control≤ 5.2.58.38
Blackberry Workspaces Server7.0.1 · 7.1.2 · 8.1.0 · 9.0
Netapp Data Availability Servicesall versions
Netapp Oncommand System Manager≥ 3.0.0 ≤ 3.1.3
Oracle Agile Engineering Data Management6.2.1.0
Oracle Agile Product Lifecycle Management9.3.3 · 9.3.5 · 9.3.6
Oracle Communications Element Manager8.1.1 · 8.2.0 · 8.2.1
Oracle Communications Instant Messaging Server10.0.1.4.0
Oracle Health Sciences Empirica Inspections1.0.1.2
Oracle Health Sciences Empirica Signal7.3.3
Oracle Hospitality Guest Access4.2.0 · 4.2.1
Oracle Instantis Enterprisetrack≥ 17.1 ≤ 17.3
Oracle Mysql Enterprise Monitor≥ 8.0.0 ≤ 8.0.20 · ≤ 4.0.12
Oracle Siebel UI Framework≤ 20.5
Oracle Transportation Management6.3.7
Oracle Workload Manager12.2.0.1 · 18c · 19c
Debian Linux10.0 · 8.0 · 9.0
Fedoraproject Fedora30 · 31 · 32
Opensuse Leap15.1

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2020-1938 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-1938 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added 3 Mar 2022.

How severe is CVE-2020-1938?

CVE-2020-1938 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated critical. EPSS estimates a 99.3% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2020-1938?

Affected products include Apache Geode, Apache Tomcat, Blackberry Good Control, Blackberry Workspaces Server, Netapp Data Availability Services, and 16 more.

How do I fix CVE-2020-1938?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Apache Tomcat 7.0.100 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2020-1938 against the real software inventory on every managed device, as each hourly inventory arrives. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. Because it is on the CISA KEV list, a risk for it never ranks below high, and the update that fixes it moves to the Emergency patch lane. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.