How severe is CVE-2012-5886?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2012-5886 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2012-5886?

CVE-2012-5886 affects the following packages: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2012-5886?

Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina to 5.5.36 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-5886 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2012-5886 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2012-5886 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2012-5886?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2012-5886 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2012-5886 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2012-5886 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2012-5886?

CVE-2012-5886 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 8.8%, placing it in the 95th 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. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2012-5886?

CVE-2012-5886 is classified as Improper Authentication (CWE-287). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2012-5886 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2012-5886 was published on May 17, 2022 and was last updated on November 29, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2012-5886 — tomcat-catalina

CVE-2012-5886 is a Improper Authentication vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Improper Authentication in Apache Tomcat

Published

May 17, 2022

Updated

Nov 29, 2024

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Sep 18, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

8.8%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

3 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina

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

The HTTP Digest Access Authentication implementation in Apache Tomcat 5.5.x before 5.5.36, 6.x before 6.0.36, and 7.x before 7.0.30 caches information about the authenticated user within the session state, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass authentication via vectors related to the session ID.

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina`	≥ 5.5.0&&< 5.5.36	5.5.36`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:5.5.36`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina`	≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.36	6.0.36`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:6.0.36`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina`	≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.30	7.0.30`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:7.0.30`

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina to 5.5.36 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2012-5886 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2012-5886 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2012-5886. 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

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
JBEWP 5 for RHEL 5	`jbossweb-0:2.1.13-3_patch_02.ep5.el5`	RHSA-2013:0631
JBoss Data Grid 6.1	see advisory	RHSA-2013:0665
JBoss Enterprise BRMS Platform 5.3	see advisory	RHSA-2013:1006
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5	`tomcat5-0:5.5.23-0jpp.38.el5_9`	RHSA-2013:0640
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	`tomcat6-0:6.0.24-52.el6_4`	RHSA-2013:0623
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5.2	see advisory	RHSA-2013:0632
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5 for RHEL 5	`jbossweb-0:2.1.13-3_patch_02.ep5.el5`	RHSA-2013:0629
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.0	see advisory	RHSA-2013:0648

Ubuntu

USN-1637-1Ubuntu

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2012-5886 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2012-5886 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works