high
7.8
CWE
20 284
Advisory Published
CVE Published
Updated

CVE-2016-1240: Input Validation

First published: Thu Sep 15 2016(Updated: )

The Tomcat init script in the tomcat7 package before 7.0.56-3+deb8u4 and tomcat8 package before 8.0.14-1+deb8u3 on Debian jessie and the tomcat6 and libtomcat6-java packages before 6.0.35-1ubuntu3.8 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, the tomcat7 and libtomcat7-java packages before 7.0.52-1ubuntu0.7 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and tomcat8 and libtomcat8-java packages before 8.0.32-1ubuntu1.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS allows local users with access to the tomcat account to gain root privileges via a symlink attack on the Catalina log file, as demonstrated by /var/log/tomcat7/catalina.out.

Credit: security@debian.org

Affected SoftwareAffected VersionHow to fix
debian/tomcat6
redhat/hibernate4-eap6<0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6
0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24<0:1-3.jbcs.el6
0:1-3.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon<0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el6
0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc<1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el6
1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el6
redhat/tomcat7<0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el6
0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el6
redhat/tomcat8<0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el6
0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el6
redhat/tomcat-native<0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el6
0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el6
redhat/tomcat-vault<0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6
0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6
redhat/hibernate4-eap6<0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7
0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24<0:1-3.jbcs.el7
0:1-3.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon<0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el7
0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc<1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el7
1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el7
redhat/tomcat7<0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el7
0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el7
redhat/tomcat8<0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el7
0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el7
redhat/tomcat-native<0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el7
0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el7
redhat/tomcat-vault<0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7
0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7
Tomcat=6.0
Tomcat=7.0
Tomcat=8.0
Ubuntu=12.04
Ubuntu=14.04
Ubuntu=16.04
Debian Linux=8.0

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Parent vulnerabilities

(Appears in the following advisories)

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the severity of CVE-2016-1240?

    CVE-2016-1240 is classified with high severity due to the potential for root privilege escalation.

  • How do I fix CVE-2016-1240?

    To fix CVE-2016-1240, update the affected Tomcat packages to the latest versions provided by your distribution.

  • Which versions of Tomcat are affected by CVE-2016-1240?

    CVE-2016-1240 affects Tomcat versions before 6.0.35, 7.0.56, and 8.0.14.

  • What platforms are impacted by CVE-2016-1240?

    CVE-2016-1240 impacts Debian Jessie and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, among others.

  • Is CVE-2016-1240 an exploit in Tomcat's init script?

    Yes, CVE-2016-1240 is a vulnerability in the Tomcat init script that allows for privilege escalation.

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