CVE-2016-0762
MEDIUMCVE-2016-0762 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-203 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2016-0762 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Observable Discrepancy in Apache Tomcat
Blast Radius
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcatReal-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 Realm implementations in Apache Tomcat versions 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.M9, 8.5.0 to 8.5.4, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.36, 7.0.0 to 7.0.70 and 6.0.0 to 6.0.45 did not process the supplied password if the supplied user name did not exist. This made a timing attack possible to determine valid user names. Note that the default configuration includes the LockOutRealm which makes exploitation of this vulnerability harder.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 9.0.0M1&&< 9.0.0.M10 | 9.0.0.M10 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.5 | 8.5.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 8.0.0.RC1&&< 8.0.37 | 8.0.37 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.72 | 7.0.72 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.46 | 6.0.46 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 9.0.0.M10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-0762 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2016-0762 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2016-0762. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2016-0762 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2016-0762 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.