How severe is CVE-2008-2938?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2008-2938 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2008-2938?

Affected package information for CVE-2008-2938 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2008-2938?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2008-2938 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2008-2938 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 4 known exploit references for CVE-2008-2938, including 2 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2008-2938?

CVE-2008-2938 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 92.7%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2008-2938?

CVE-2008-2938 is classified as Path Traversal (CWE-22). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2008-2938?

CVE-2008-2938 affects apache tomcat. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2008-2938 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2008-2938 was published on August 13, 2008 and was last updated on April 23, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2008-2938

Directory traversal vulnerability in Apache Tomcat 4.1.0 through 4.1.37, 5.5.0 through 5.5.26, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.16, when allowLinking and UTF-8 are enabled, allows remote attackers…

Published

Aug 13, 2008

Updated

Apr 23, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

4 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

92.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Directory traversal vulnerability in Apache Tomcat 4.1.0 through 4.1.37, 5.5.0 through 5.5.26, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.16, when allowLinking and UTF-8 are enabled, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via encoded directory traversal sequences in the URI, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-2370. NOTE: versions earlier than 6.0.18 were reported affected, but the vendor advisory lists 6.0.16 as the last affected version.

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

tomcatapache

≥ 6.0.0 && ≤ 6.0.16

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-6229remotemultiple✓ Verified

Apache Tomcat < 6.0.18 - 'utf8' Directory Traversal (PoC)

by Simon Ryeo · Aug 11, 2008

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-14489remoteunix✓ Verified

Apache Tomcat < 6.0.18 - 'utf8' Directory Traversal

by mywisdom · Jul 28, 2010

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2008-2938 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2008-2938 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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