Actively exploited in the wild
Apache Tomcat Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability
Apache - Tomcat · Listed in the CISA KEV since 2022-03-03. This indicates confirmed attacks in production environments.
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CVE-2020-1938
CriticalCVSS 9.8KEVExploitation Probability (EPSS)
Very high risk100th percentile - higher than 100% of all known CVEs
Summary
The Ghostcat vulnerability in Apache Tomcat affects the AJP protocol. The default-enabled AJP connector listened on all IP addresses, allowing an attacker to read arbitrary files from the web application and process them as JSP, potentially leading to remote code execution.
Risk Assessment
The risk to the organization includes unauthorized access to sensitive application files and potential server compromise if the application allows file uploads or the attacker can control file content.
Recommendation
Immediately disable the AJP connector if not required, or upgrade Tomcat to versions 9.0.31, 8.5.51, or 7.0.100 and later. Also restrict access to the AJP port to trusted networks only.
Original NVD description (English source)
When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat. Tomcat treats AJP connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exploited in ways that may be surprising. In Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.30, 8.5.0 to 8.5.50 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.99, Tomcat shipped with an AJP Connector enabled by default that listened on all configured IP addresses. It was expected (and recommended in the security guide) that this Connector would be disabled if not required. This vulnerability report identified a mechanism that allowed: - returning arbitrary files from anywhere in the web application - processing any file in the web application as a JSP Further, if the web application allowed file upload and stored those files within the web application (or the attacker was able to control the content of the web application by some other means) then this, along with the ability to process a file as a JSP, made remote code execution possible. It is important to note that mitigation is only required if an AJP port is accessible to untrusted users. Users wishing to take a defence-in-depth approach and block the vector that permits returning arbitrary files and execution as JSP may upgrade to Apache Tomcat 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later. A number of changes were made to the default AJP Connector configuration in 9.0.31 to harden the default configuration. It is likely that users upgrading to 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later will need to make small changes to their configurations.