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CVE-2012-4431 — tomcat

CVE-2012-4431 is a CWE-264 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Cross-Site Request Forgery in Apache Tomcat

Published
May 17, 2022
Updated
Nov 8, 2023
Affected
2 pkgs
Patched
2 / 2
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Sep 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
9.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs95th percentile — riskier than 95% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected
☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

org/apache/catalina/filters/CsrfPreventionFilter.java in Apache Tomcat 6.x before 6.0.36 and 7.x before 7.0.32 allows remote attackers to bypass the cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection mechanism via a request that lacks a session identifier.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.tomcat:tomcat≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.366.0.36org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:6.0.36
☕Mavenorg.apache.tomcat:tomcat≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.327.0.32org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:7.0.32

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 6.0.36 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-4431 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2012-4431 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2012-4431. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate

This issue did not affect the versions of tomcat5 as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and tomcat6 as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 as they did not include the CSRF prevention filter.

ProductFixed inAdvisory
JBoss Data Grid 6.1see advisoryRHSA-2013:0665
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.0see advisoryRHSA-2013:0648
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 for RHEL 5jbossweb-0:7.0.17-4.Final_redhat_3.ep6.el5RHSA-2013:0647
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 for RHEL 5tomcat6-0:6.0.35-6_patch_06.ep6.el5RHSA-2013:0266
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 for RHEL 5tomcat7-0:7.0.30-3_patch_02.ep6.el5RHSA-2013:0268
Red Hat JBoss Operations Network 3.2see advisoryRHSA-2013:1853
Red Hat JBoss Portal Platform 6.1see advisoryRHSA-2013:1437
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 2.0see advisoryRHSA-2013:0265

Frequently Asked Questions

org/apache/catalina/filters/CsrfPreventionFilter.java in Apache Tomcat 6.x before 6.0.36 and 7.x before 7.0.32 allows remote attackers to bypass the cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection mechanism via a request that lacks a session identifier.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2012-4431 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2012-4431 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

CVE-2012-4431: tomcat CSRF | O3 Security