How severe is CVE-2013-2185?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2013-2185 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2013-2185?

CVE-2013-2185 affects the following packages: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2013-2185?

Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 7.0.39 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-2185 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2013-2185 in my Maven dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2013-2185 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

Is CVE-2013-2185 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2013-2185 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-2013-2185?

CVE-2013-2185 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 7.2%, placing it in the 94th 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-2013-2185?

CVE-2013-2185 is classified as Improper Input Validation (CWE-20). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2013-2185 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2013-2185 was published on May 17, 2022 and was last updated on December 4, 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-2013-2185 — tomcat

CVE-2013-2185 is a Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Tomcat

Published

May 17, 2022

Updated

Dec 4, 2024

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 3, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

7.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs94th percentile — riskier than 94% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕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

NOTE: this issue is reportedly disputed by the Apache Tomcat team, although Red Hat considers it a vulnerability. The dispute appears to regard whether it is the responsibility of applications to avoid providing untrusted data to be deserialized, or whether this class should inherently protect against this issue. Regardless the tomcat maintainers have altered the behavior of this method in version 7.0.39.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat`	all versions	7.0.39`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:7.0.39`

Affected Products

3 products · 3 configurations

Application

tomcatapache

≤ 7.0.39

range

Application

jboss enterprise application platformredhat

1 version

6.1.0

Application

jboss enterprise portal platformredhat

1 version

6.0.0

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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 7.0.39 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-2185 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

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 HatImportant

This issue did not affect the versions of Tomcat as shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6 and 7; and Red Hat JBoss Web Server 1 and 2. This issue did not affect the versions of JBoss Web as shipped with Red Hat JBoss BRMS 5; Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 6; Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6; Red Hat JBoss Enterprise…

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.1	see advisory	RHSA-2013:1194
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 for RHEL 5	`jbossweb-0:7.2.0-3.redhat_2.ep6.el5`	RHSA-2013:1193
Red Hat JBoss Portal Platform 6.0	see advisory	RHSA-2013:1265

Frequently Asked Questions

The readObject method in the DiskFileItem class in Apache Tomcat and JBoss Web, as used in Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.1.0 and Red Hat JBoss Portal 6.0.0, allows remote attackers to write to arbitrary files via a NULL byte in a file name in a serialized instance, a similar issue to CVE-2013-2186. NOTE: this issue is reportedly disputed by the Apache Tomcat team, although Red Hat considers it a vulnerability. The dispute appears to regard whether it is the responsibility of applications to avoid providing untrusted data to be deserialized, or whether this class should inh