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Tomcat CVE-2024-38816

HIGH
Path Traversal (CWE-22)
2024-09-13 security@vmware.com
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: vmware
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could access files and directories outside the intended path by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%.
Patch available 14.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Applications serving static resources through the functional web frameworks WebMvc.fn or WebFlux.fn are vulnerable to path traversal attacks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Validate and canonicalize file paths. Use chroot or sandboxing. Reject input containing path separators or '../' sequences.

Affected Packages

maven org.springframework:spring-webflux fix: 6.1.13
maven org.springframework:spring-webmvc fix: 6.1.13

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in maven

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22), which allows attackers to access files and directories outside the intended path. Applications serving static resources through the functional web frameworks WebMvc.fn or WebFlux.fn are vulnerable to path traversal attacks. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests and obtain any file on the file system that is also accessible to the process in which the Spring application is running. Specifically, an application is vulnerable when both of the following are true: * the web application uses RouterFunctions to serve static resources * resource handling is explicitly configured with a FileSystemResource location However, malicious requests are blocked and rejected when any of the following is true: * the Spring Security HTTP Firewall https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/servlet/exploits/firewall.html is in use * the application runs on Tomcat or Jetty

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (vmware) PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Primary rating from Vendor (vmware) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: vmware

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

Applications serving static resources through the functional web frameworks WebMvc.fn or WebFlux.fn are vulnerable to path traversal attacks. An attacker can craft malicious HTTP requests and obtain any file on the file system that is also accessible to the process in which the Spring application is running.

Specifically, an application is vulnerable when both of the following are true:

  • the web application uses RouterFunctions to serve static resources
  • resource handling is explicitly configured with a FileSystemResource location

However, malicious requests are blocked and rejected when any of the following is true:

  • the Spring Security HTTP Firewall https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/servlet/exploits/firewall.html  is in use
  • the application runs on Tomcat or Jetty

Blast Radius

ecosystem impact
† from your stack dependencies † transitive graph · vuln.today resolves 4-path depth
  • 1 maven packages depend on org.springframework:spring-webflux (1 direct, 0 indirect)
  • 397 maven packages depend on org.springframework:spring-webmvc (396 direct, 1 indirect)

Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 6.1.0 and other introduced versions.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
14.7%
Top 4% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 14.7%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

73
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +15
CVSS: +38
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.

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