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Fencer Intel
critical 9.8

CVE-2017-5638 kev+ ransomware in the critical feed json

Apache Struts vulnerable to remote arbitrary command execution due to improper input validation

published 2017-03-11 9 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 , EUVD-2018-0625

cvss
9.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Exploited
added 2021-11-03, used in ransomware
epss
100.0%
EPSS 100.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.9%
public exploits
3
Metasploit, Exploit-DB, plus a Nuclei check

Summary

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.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  • maven org.apache.struts:struts2-core 2.3.32, 2.5.10.1
  • apache struts 2.3.32, 2.5.10.1
  • arubanetworks clearpass_policy_manager 6.6.5

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2017-5638 updated cvss 9.8

struts2: RCE when performing file upload based on Jakarta Multipart parser

  • Red Hat JBoss Fuse Service Works 6 struts2-core struts2-core
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/multi/http/struts2_content_type_ognl)
  2. Published
  3. Added to CISA KEV
  4. CISA patch deadline
  5. CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added
5 y ago
Patch by
2022-05-03 (4 y ago)
Ransomware
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product
Apache, Struts
CISA name
Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Ransomware

Groups reported to have exploited it in intrusions.

  • Prophet Spider initial access broker

reported by secureworks.com

Ransomware Vulnerability Matrix by BushidoUK (github.com/BushidoUK/Ransomware-Vulnerability-Matrix), reformatted per CVE. CC BY 4.0

ATT&CK techniques

How it is exploited and what it leads to, in MITRE ATT&CK terms.

  • T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application exploitation
  • T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter primary impact
  • T1005 Data from Local System secondary impact

kev release 2025-07-28, att&ck v16.1. KEV to ATT&CK mappings by the MITRE Center for Threat-Informed Defense (Mappings Explorer, Apache-2.0). © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. Terms of use

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total
Assessed
21 mo ago

Exploit prediction

100.00% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.9% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/multi/http/struts2_content_type_ognl Apache Struts Jakarta Multipart Parser OGNL Injection metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2017-03-07
  • EDB-41614 Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - 'Jakarta' Multipart Parser OGNL Injection (Metasploit) remote, 2017-03-15
  • EDB-41570 Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - Remote Code Execution webapps, 2017-03-07
  • Nuclei template Apache Struts 2 - Remote Command Execution nuclei detection template
  • nmap.org https://nmap.org/nsedoc/scripts/http-vuln-cve2017-5638.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • arstechnica.com https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/critical-vulnerability-under-massive-attack-imperils-high-impact-sites/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • github.com https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/issues/8064 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • blog.talosintelligence.com http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/03/apache-0-day-exploited.html referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • isc.sans.edu https://isc.sans.edu/diary/22169 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • github.com https://github.com/mazen160/struts-pwn referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • packetstormsecurity.com https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/141494/S2-45-poc.py.txt referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
  • blog.trendmicro.com http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/cve-2017-5638-apache-struts-vulnerability-remote-code-execution/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CISA ADP 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA 3.1 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 10.0 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
GitHub 3.0 10.0 CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
maven org.apache.struts:struts2-core
>=2.3.0, <2.3.32
>=2.5.0, <2.5.10.1
2.3.32
2.5.10.1

Affected products

  • Apache Software Foundation Apache Struts

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-755 Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions
  • CWE-20 Improper Input Validation

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.