The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and…

Description

The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.

Scores

EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)

100.0% · top 0.1% of all CVEs (4 Nov 2026)

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: total

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.8.

Weakness

• n/a
• CWE-755 Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)All about CWE-755 and its CVEs

Affected products

• Apache Software Foundation · Apache Struts

  • affected 2.3.x before 2.3.32
  • affected 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1

Affected packages

From reviewed advisories of the GitHub Advisory Database.

• Mavenorg.apache.struts:struts2-coreGHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 (opens in a new tab)

References (34)

• https://nmap.org/nsedoc/scripts/http-vuln-cve2017-5638.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• http://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/alert/ARUBA-PSA-2017-002.txt (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/critical-vulnerability-under-massive-attack-imperils-high-impact-sites/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• 41570 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
• https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20170310-0001/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/issues/8064 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-046.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/03/apache-0-day-exploited.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://www.imperva.com/blog/2017/03/cve-2017-5638-new-remote-code-execution-rce-vulnerability-in-apache-struts-2/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbgn03733en_us (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• VU#834067 (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_CERT-VNx_transferred
• https://isc.sans.edu/diary/22169 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-045.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• 1037973 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
• http://www.eweek.com/security/apache-struts-vulnerability-under-attack.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• 96729 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
• https://twitter.com/theog150/status/841146956135124993 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://github.com/mazen160/struts-pwn (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/141494/S2-45-poc.py.txt (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• https://www.symantec.com/security-center/network-protection-security-advisories/SA145 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/len-14200 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://git1-us-west.apache.org/repos/asf?p=struts.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=352306493971e7d5a756d61780d57a76eb1f519a (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbhf03723en_us (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://git1-us-west.apache.org/repos/asf?p=struts.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6b8272ce47160036ed120a48345d9aa884477228 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-045 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• 41614 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DBx_transferred
• https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-046 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2017-3236622.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbgn03749en_us (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
• http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/cve-2017-5638-apache-struts-vulnerability-remote-code-execution/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
• [announce] 20200131 Apache Software Foundation Security Report: 2019 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
• [announce] 20210125 Apache Software Foundation Security Report: 2020 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
• [announce] 20210223 Re: Apache Software Foundation Security Report: 2020 (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_MLISTx_transferred
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-5638 (opens in a new tab)government-resource

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

• CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
• CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
• NVD (opens in a new tab)
• CISA KEV catalog (opens in a new tab)
• FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
• OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
• GitHub Advisory GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 (opens in a new tab)
• CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)

Badge for a README or a ticket

[![CVE-2017-5638](https://trackcve.app/badge/CVE-2017-5638.svg)](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2017-5638)

Record last updated 21 Oct 2025, 23:55 UTC.