How severe is CVE-2016-6812?

CVE-2016-6812 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2016-6812?

CVE-2016-6812 affects the following packages: org.apache.cxf:cxf-core (Maven), org.apache.cxf:cxf-core (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2016-6812?

Update org.apache.cxf:cxf-core to 3.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-6812 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2016-6812 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2016-6812 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2016-6812 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2016-6812 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-2016-6812?

CVE-2016-6812 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 7.5%, 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-2016-6812?

CVE-2016-6812 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). 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.

When was CVE-2016-6812 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-6812 was published on August 10, 2017 and was last updated on October 24, 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-2016-6812: cxf-core XSS — Fixed in 3.0.12

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

7.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs95th percentile — riskier than 95% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-core☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-core

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 transport module in Apache CXF prior to 3.0.12 and 3.1.x prior to 3.1.9 uses FormattedServiceListWriter to provide an HTML page which lists the names and absolute URL addresses of the available service endpoints. The module calculates the base URL using the current HttpServletRequest. The calculated base URL is used by FormattedServiceListWriter to build the service endpoint absolute URLs. If the unexpected matrix parameters have been injected into the request URL then these matrix parameters will find their way back to the client in the services list page which represents an XSS risk to the client.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.cxf:cxf-core`	all versions	3.0.12`org.apache.cxf:cxf-core:3.0.12`
☕Maven	`org.apache.cxf:cxf-core`	≥ 3.1.0&&< 3.1.9	3.1.9`org.apache.cxf:cxf-core:3.1.9`

Affected Products

1 product · 10 configurations

Application

cxfapache

≤ 3.0.11

9 versions

3.1.03.1.13.1.23.1.33.1.43.1.53.1.63.1.73.1.8

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.cxf:cxf-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.cxf:cxf-core to 3.0.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-6812 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

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

RHSA-2017:0868Red Hat JBoss A-MQ 6.3

Frequently Asked Questions

The HTTP transport module in Apache CXF prior to 3.0.12 and 3.1.x prior to 3.1.9 uses FormattedServiceListWriter to provide an HTML page which lists the names and absolute URL addresses of the available service endpoints. The module calculates the base URL using the current HttpServletRequest. The calculated base URL is used by FormattedServiceListWriter to build the service endpoint absolute URLs. If the unexpected matrix parameters have been injected into the request URL then these matrix parameters will find their way back to the client in the services list page which represents an XSS risk

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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CVE-2016-6812 — cxf-core

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored