Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Vulnerabilities

Apache Tomcat Affected by Serious ‘Ghostcat’ Vulnerability

A serious vulnerability affecting Apache Tomcat can be exploited to read files from a server and in some cases even to achieve remote code execution.

A serious vulnerability affecting Apache Tomcat can be exploited to read files from a server and in some cases even to achieve remote code execution.

Dubbed Ghostcat and tracked as CVE-2020-1938, the flaw was discovered by researchers at Chinese cybersecurity firm Chaitin Tech, who reported their findings to the Apache Software Foundation on January 3.

The vulnerability affects versions 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the open source Java servlet container. Patches were made available earlier this month with the release of versions 9.0.31, 8.5.51 and 7.0.100. Version 6 is no longer supported, but the fact that it’s impacted shows that the vulnerability has existed for more than a decade.Ghostcat

Chaitin says the vulnerability is related to the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP) protocol, which is designed to improve performance by proxying inbound requests from a web server through to an application server.

The AJP connector used by Tomcat is affected by a weakness that can be exploited by a remote, unauthenticated attacker to access configuration and source code files for web applications deployed on a server. If the system allows users to upload files, an attacker can upload malicious JavaServer Pages (JSP) code to the server and use Ghostcat to execute that code.

Ghostcat affects the default configuration of Tomcat and many servers may be vulnerable to attacks directly from the internet.

Chaitin disclosed its findings last week and several proof-of-concept (PoC) exploits have been publicly released by different researchers. Chaitin has made available both online and offline tools that can be used to determine if a server is affected by Ghostcat.

Affected Linux distributions, such as Red Hat and SUSE, have released advisories for their users. An analysis of the vulnerability has also been published by Tenable.

Related: Symantec Warns of Apache Tomcat Server Worm

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Related: Code Execution Flaws Patched in Apache Tomcat

Related: Information Disclosure, DoS Flaws Patched in Apache Tomcat

Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Vulnerabilities

Less than a week after announcing that it would suspended service indefinitely due to a conflict with an (at the time) unnamed security researcher...

Data Breaches

OpenAI has confirmed a ChatGPT data breach on the same day a security firm reported seeing the use of a component affected by an...

IoT Security

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car...

Vulnerabilities

A researcher at IOActive discovered that home security systems from SimpliSafe are plagued by a vulnerability that allows tech savvy burglars to remotely disable...

Risk Management

The supply chain threat is directly linked to attack surface management, but the supply chain must be known and understood before it can be...

Cybercrime

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft calls attention to a series of zero-day remote code execution attacks hitting its Office productivity suite.

Vulnerabilities

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft warns vulnerability (CVE-2023-23397) could lead to exploitation before an email is viewed in the Preview Pane.

Vulnerabilities

The latest Chrome update brings patches for eight vulnerabilities, including seven reported by external researchers.