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Fencer Vulns
high 8.1

CVE-2017-12615 kev+ ransomware in the critical feed json

When running Apache Tomcat on Windows with HTTP PUTs enabled it was possible to upload a JSP file to the server

published 2017-09-19 9 y ago modified 2026-08-06 3 mo ago also GHSA-pjfr-qf3p-3q25 , EUVD-2018-0654

cvss
8.1
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Exploited
added 2022-03-25, used in ransomware
epss
99.7%
EPSS 99.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.9%
public exploits
1
Exploit-DB, plus a Nuclei check

Summary

When running Apache Tomcat 7.0.0 to 7.0.79 on Windows with HTTP PUTs enabled (e.g. via setting the readonly initialisation parameter of the Default to false) it was possible to upload a JSP file to the server via a specially crafted request. This JSP could then be requested and any code it contained would be executed by the server.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  • maven org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core 7.0.79
  • tomcat7 jboss enterprise web server 3.1 7.0.70-25.ep7.el6
  • tomcat7 jboss enterprise web server 3.1 7.0.70-25.ep7.el7
  • tomcat8 jboss enterprise web server 3.1 8.0.36-29.ep7.el6
  • tomcat8 jboss enterprise web server 3.1 8.0.36-29.ep7.el7
  • mod_cluster jboss enterprise web server 3.1 1.3.8-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6
  • mod_cluster jboss enterprise web server 3.1 1.3.8-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7
  • tomcat7-lib jboss enterprise web server 3.1 7.0.70-25.ep7.el6
  • tomcat7-lib jboss enterprise web server 3.1 7.0.70-25.ep7.el7

red hat advisories RHSA-2018:0466RHSA-2017:3113RHSA-2017:3081RHSA-2017:3080

  • tomcat SLES 12-LTSS 7.0.82-7.16.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2017:3059-1

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2017-12615 updated cvss 8.1

tomcat: Remote Code Execution via JSP Upload

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-servlet-3.0-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-lib 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-jsvc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-javadoc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-el-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, +3 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-servlet-3.0-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-lib 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-jsvc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-javadoc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-el-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, +3 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3081
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) tomcat6 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-lib 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-javadoc 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-el-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-docs-webapp 6.0.24-111.el6_9, +3 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) tomcat6 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-lib 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-javadoc 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-el-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-docs-webapp 6.0.24-111.el6_9, +3 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) tomcat6 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-lib 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-el-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-jsp-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-servlet-2.5-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3080
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-lib 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-el-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-jsp-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-admin-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3081
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) tomcat6-javadoc 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-docs-webapp 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-admin-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3080
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-lib 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-jsvc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-javadoc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-el-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, +3 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3081
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) tomcat6 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-lib 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-el-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-jsp-2.1-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-servlet-2.5-api 6.0.24-111.el6_9
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3080
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) tomcat 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-lib 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-el-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-jsp-2.2-api 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-admin-webapps 7.0.76-3.el7_4, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3081
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 6) tomcat6-javadoc 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-docs-webapp 6.0.24-111.el6_9, tomcat6-admin-webapps 6.0.24-111.el6_9
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3080
show 6 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) tomcat-jsvc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-javadoc 7.0.76-3.el7_4, tomcat-docs-webapp 7.0.76-3.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3081
  • Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 for RHEL 6 Server httpd 2.2.26-57.ep6.el6, mod_ssl 2.2.26-57.ep6.el6, mod_ldap 2.2.26-57.ep6.el6, httpd-tools 2.2.26-57.ep6.el6, httpd-manual 2.2.26-57.ep6.el6, tomcat6 6.0.41-19_patch_04.ep6.el6, +23 more Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 for RHEL 7 Server httpd22 2.2.26-58.ep6.el7, mod_ssl22 2.2.26-58.ep6.el7, mod_ldap22 2.2.26-58.ep6.el7, httpd22-tools 2.2.26-58.ep6.el7, httpd22-manual 2.2.26-58.ep6.el7, tomcat6 6.0.41-19_patch_04.ep6.el7, +23 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3113
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 2.1
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2017:3114
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2018:0465
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1 for RHEL 6 tomcat7 7.0.70-25.ep7.el6, tomcat8 8.0.36-29.ep7.el6, tomcat7-lib 7.0.70-25.ep7.el6, tomcat8-lib 8.0.36-29.ep7.el6, tomcat7-jsvc 7.0.70-25.ep7.el6, tomcat8-jsvc 8.0.36-29.ep7.el6, +25 more Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1 for RHEL 7 tomcat7 7.0.70-25.ep7.el7, tomcat8 8.0.36-29.ep7.el7, tomcat7-lib 7.0.70-25.ep7.el7, tomcat8-lib 8.0.36-29.ep7.el7, tomcat7-jsvc 7.0.70-25.ep7.el7, tomcat8-jsvc 8.0.36-29.ep7.el7, +25 more
    fixed: vendor fix “Ensure that readonly is set to true (the default) for the DefaultServlet, WebDAV servlet or application context. Block HTTP methods that permit resource modification for untrusted users.” RHSA-2018:0466
  • Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 6 jbossweb jbossweb Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6 jbossweb jbossweb Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 jbossweb jbossweb Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6 jbossweb jbossweb Red Hat JBoss Operations Network 3 jbossweb jbossweb Red Hat JBoss Portal 6 jbossweb jbossweb
    +1 more products
    Red Hat Software Collections rh-java-common-tomcat-lib, rh-java-common-tomcat-javadoc, rh-java-common-tomcat-el-2.2-api, rh-java-common-tomcat-jsp-2.2-api, rh-java-common-tomcat-servlet-3.0-api
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. First public exploit (EDB-42953)
  3. CISA SSVC: exploitation active
  4. Added to CISA KEV
  5. CISA patch deadline

Known exploited

Added
4 y ago
Patch by
2022-04-15 (4 y ago)
Ransomware
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product
Apache, Tomcat
CISA name
Apache Tomcat on Windows Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
4 y ago

Exploit prediction

99.71% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • EDB-42953 Apache Tomcat < 9.0.1 (Beta) / < 8.5.23 / < 8.0.47 / < 7.0.8 - JSP Upload Bypass / Remote Code Execution (1) webapps, 2017-09-20
  • Nuclei template Apache Tomcat Servers - Remote Code Execution nuclei detection template
  • breaktoprotect.blogspot.com http://breaktoprotect.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-case-of-cve-2017-12615-tomcat-7-put.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • github.com https://github.com/breaktoprotect/CVE-2017-12615 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CISA ADP 3.1 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA 3.1 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 6.8 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
GitHub 3.0 8.1 CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
maven org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core
>=7.0.0, <7.0.79
7.0.79

Affected products

  • Apache Software Foundation Apache Tomcat

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-434 Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.