CriticalCVE-2017-12617

    Apache Tomcat Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2017-12617)

    Published Last modified In CISA KEV since Sources: OSV, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    When running Apache Tomcat versions 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0, 8.5.0 to 8.5.22, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.46 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.81 with HTTP PUTs enabled (e.g. via setting the readonly initialisation parameter of the Default servlet 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.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update tomcat to version 8.0.47. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Apache Tomcat eq 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0..9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0
    • Apache Tomcat eq 8.5.0 to 8.5.22..8.5.0 to 8.5.22
    • Apache Tomcat eq 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.46..8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.46
    • Apache Tomcat eq 7.0.0 to 7.0.81..7.0.0 to 7.0.81

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    8.1

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.1

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: OSV, CVE.org

    99.97 %

    EPSS score

    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 99.98

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    220.47 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.1 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.1
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    99.97 %
    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    99.98
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This CVE sits on KEV because it offers trivial, unauthenticated remote code execution on one of the most widely deployed Java application servers in the world — public exploits have existed since 2017, the Metasploit module is mature, and exploitation likelihood is at the very top of the scale. The catch is that it only works where PUT has been enabled (readonly=false), so the attack surface narrows to misconfigured or long-unpatched instances — which makes a quick configuration audit extremely high-leverage. Score internet-exposed Tomcat as P1 (24 h), internal app-tier instances as P2 (7 days), and embedded Tomcats shipped inside vendor appliances as P3 pending a vendor ticket. CISA has not flagged ransomware use, but this CVE is routinely abused for initial access by cryptominer campaigns, mass webshell operators and supply-chain intrusions.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Upgrade Apache Tomcat to a patched release: 7.0.82, 8.0.47, 8.5.23 or 9.0.1 (or any newer stable version on the same branch). Push the change through CAB within 24 h — this is an unauthenticated RCE.
      • If patching is blocked, explicitly set the DefaultServlet init parameter readonly to true in conf/web.xml (or remove it — the default is true). Restart Tomcat and verify with curl -X OPTIONS that PUT is no longer advertised in the Allow header.
      • Block HTTP methods PUT, DELETE, MOVE, MKCOL on every upstream reverse proxy (Apache httpd, nginx, F5, HAProxy) or WAF fronting Tomcat until patching is complete.
      • Enumerate every internet-exposed Tomcat instance (Shodan export, external ASM, firewall NAT rules) and drop them into a temporary ACL that only permits admin jump hosts until patched.
      • Perform a forensic sweep of webapp directories (webapps/<app>/, work/Catalina/): hunt for recent .jsp, .jspx, .jsp. files (find … -mtime -30 -name "*.jsp*") and JSPs containing Runtime.exec, ProcessBuilder, base64 blobs. Any hit: declare incident, isolate host, rotate credentials.
      • Verify the Tomcat service account: it must be an unprivileged system user, never root or SYSTEM. If it is, downgrade immediately.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: place Tomcat in a dedicated app tier VLAN, ingress only from the reverse-proxy pool. Never expose /manager or /host-manager to the internet.
      • WAF / reverse-proxy rule: deny any request with method PUT targeting paths ending in .jsp, .jspx, .jsp/, .jsp%20, .jsp::$DATA, or using NTFS alternate-data-stream tricks. ModSecurity shape: SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@streq PUT" "chain,deny,id:1012617" chained with SecRule REQUEST_URI "@rx \.jsp" ....
      • Deploy IPS signatures: enable the Snort/Suricata rules shipped in the ET Open ruleset for CVE-2017-12617 (ET WEB_SERVER SID range) and switch them to drop.
      • Endpoint hardening: run the Tomcat process under an AppArmor/SELinux profile with noexec on /tmp and a read-only webapps/ mount. Enable the Java SecurityManager with a tight catalina.policy.
      • Enforce a configuration baseline via Ansible/Puppet/Chef: readonly=true, listings=false, no overridden Default servlet, AJP connector bound to 127.0.0.1 or disabled.
      • Egress filter on the app tier: outbound traffic only to known backends (DB, message broker). No outbound HTTP(S) or DNS to the internet — this breaks reverse shells and second-stage downloads.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Web access log (localhost_access_log or reverse-proxy log): method=PUT on uri ~ \.jsp(x)? returning HTTP 201 or 204 is almost always malicious. KQL shape: WebLogs | where cs_method == "PUT" and cs_uri_stem matches regex @"(?i)\.jspx?" | where sc_status in (201,204).
      • Sysmon EID 11 (file create) or Linux auditd watch on webapps/**/*.jsp* with java as the creating process. Sigma shape: process_name: java AND TargetFilename|endswith: '.jsp' outside approved deployment windows.
      • Sysmon EID 1 / auditd execve: child processes of java/tomcat such as /bin/sh, bash, cmd.exe, powershell.exe, whoami, curl, wget, nc — the classic post-exploitation chain after a JSP webshell is triggered.
      • Netflow/Zeek: outbound connections from the app tier to previously unseen external IPs within 60 s of an inbound PUT. Correlate Zeek http.log with conn.log.
      • SIEM correlation: inbound PUT /x.jsp followed within 5 minutes by the first GET /x.jsp for that same file from any source IP — high-precision exploit indicator.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    When running Apache Tomcat versions 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0, 8.5.0 to 8.5.22, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.46 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.81 with HTTP PUTs enabled (e.g. via setting the readonly initialisation parameter of the Default servlet 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.

    Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Apache Software FoundationApache Tomcat
    • 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.46
    • 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0
    • 8.5.0 to 8.5.22
    • 7.0.0 to 7.0.81
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    apachetomcat
    • 8.0 – < 8.0.47
    • 8.5.0 – < 8.5.23
    • 7.0.0 – < 7.0.82
    • 9.0.0 – < 9.0.1
    • 8.0.47
    • 8.5.23
    • 7.0.82
    • 9.0.1
    netappactive_iq_unified_manager
    • ≥ 7.3
    • ≥ 9.5
    • —
    • —
    netapponcommand_balance
    • —
    • —
    netapponcommand_insight
    • —
    • —
    netapponcommand_shift
    • —
    • —
    netapponcommand_workflow_automation
    • —
    • —
    netappsnapcenter
    • —
    • —
    oracleagile_product_lifecycle_management
    • 9.3.5
    • 9.3.4
    • 9.3.3
    • 9.3.6
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    oraclecommunications_instant_messaging_server
    • 10.0.1
    • —
    oracleendeca_information_discovery_integrator
    • 3.1.0
    • 3.2.0
    • —
    • —
    oracleenterprise_manager_for_mysql_database
    • 12.1.0.4.0
    • —
    oraclefinancial_services_analytical_applications_infrastructure
    • 7.3.3.0.0 – ≤ 7.3.5.3.0
    • 8.0.0.0.0 – ≤ 8.0.9.0.0
    • —
    • —
    oraclefmw_platform
    • 12.2.1.3.0
    • 12.2.1.2.0
    • —
    • —
    oraclehealth_sciences_empirica_inspections
    • 1.0.1.1
    • —
    oraclehospitality_guest_access
    • 4.2.0
    • 4.2.1
    • —
    • —
    oracleinstantis_enterprisetrack
    • 17.2
    • 17.1
    • —
    • —
    oraclemanagement_pack
    • 11.2.1.0.13
    • —
    oraclemicros_lucas
    • 2.9.5
    • —
    oraclemicros_retail_xbri_loss_prevention
    • 10.5.0
    • 10.0.1
    • 10.6.0
    • 10.7.0
    • 10.8.0
    • 10.8.1
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    oraclemysql_enterprise_monitor
    • 3.4.0 – ≤ 3.4.4.4226
    • 4.0.0 – ≤ 4.0.0.5135
    • ≤ 3.3.6.3293
    • —
    • —
    • —
    oracleretail_advanced_inventory_planning
    • 14.1
    • 13.2
    • 13.4
    • 15.0
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    oracleretail_back_office
    • 14.0.4
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebiandebian_linux7.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_desktop6.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_desktop7.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.4
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.5
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.6
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.7
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus_compute_node7.4
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus_compute_node7.5
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus_compute_node7.6
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus_compute_node7.7
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems6.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems7.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.4_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.5_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.6_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.7_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian6.0_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian7.0_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.4_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.5_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.6_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.7_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian7.0

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Exploit-DBEDB-ID 42966 (opens in a new tab)exploit-db.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—
    Exploit-DBEDB-ID 43008 (opens in a new tab)exploit-db.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

    • NVD (NIST)vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12617advisory
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/a9dd96046d7acb0357c6b7b9e6cc70d186fae663web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/74ad0e216c791454a318c1811300469eedc5c6f3web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/512a3c3aecdb52de092c6bacddd71b85c4feda06web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/506d862e7edfa991de198e0f2e4c4540830fa531web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/4cf7dab88282c8f3c92f0b961cdb0096e1d63e88web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/46dfedbc0523d7182be97f4244d7b6c942164485web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/327e8a6644e188764325a013aa2725a60f1b37e5web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/31e99502e2c602449a2f8835bd23ade772b77333web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/24aea94807f940ee44aa550378dc903289039dddweb
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/b577f9a7996b92b650b1649af3c3bae11c120db9web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/b7e0435d17aba69f16ae9e8a78ad0f1565b552afweb
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/bbcbb749c75056a2781f37038d63e646fe972104web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/c177e9668d1278710bdb14c0eb8d2702b3655f5aweb
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/cf0b37beb0622abdf24acc7110daf883f3fe4f95web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/d5b170705d24c386d76038e5989045c89795c28cweb
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/e650cf1b83e441dbd3863f3f6b61c972cafce19eweb
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/f1b85da754c4760787d68a99e839b50878140b57web
    • github.comapache/tomcat/commit/fd52f8601170b91f9d7162510e54563e5bf6bdfeweb
    • lists.apache.orgthread.html/r6ccee4e849bc77df0840c7f853f6bd09d426f6741247da2b74…web

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Product identifiers remappedNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_plm:9.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_product_lifecycle_management:9.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    2. Product identifiers remappedNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_plm:9.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_product_lifecycle_management:9.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    3. Product identifiers remappedNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_plm:9.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_product_lifecycle_management:9.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    4. Product identifiers remappedNVD

      Product mapping changed:
      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationchanged
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_plm:9.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:oracle:agile_product_lifecycle_management:9.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

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