CVE-2017-5664 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-755 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 16.6% (97th percentile). A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions in Apache Tomcat
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2017-5664.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
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 error page mechanism of the Java Servlet Specification requires that, when an error occurs and an error page is configured for the error that occurred, the original request and response are forwarded to the error page. This means that the request is presented to the error page with the original HTTP method. If the error page is a static file, expected behaviour is to serve content of the file as if processing a GET request, regardless of the actual HTTP method. The Default Servlet in Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.M20, 8.5.0 to 8.5.14, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.43 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.77 did not do this. Depending on the original request this could lead to unexpected and undesirable results for static error pages including, if the DefaultServlet is configured to permit writes, the replacement or removal of the custom error page. Notes for other user provided error pages: (1) Unless explicitly coded otherwise, JSPs ignore the HTTP method. JSPs used as error pages must must ensure that they handle any error dispatch as a GET request, regardless of the actual method. (2) By default, the response generated by a Servlet does depend on the HTTP method. Custom Servlets used as error pages must ensure that they handle any error dispatch as a GET request, regardless of the actual method.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 9.0.0.M1&&< 9.0.0.M21 | 9.0.0.M21org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:9.0.0.M21 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.15 | 8.5.15org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:8.5.15 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.0.44 | 8.0.44org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:8.0.44 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.78 | 7.0.78org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:7.0.78 |
Affected Products
tomcatapacheDetection & 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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 9.0.0.M21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-5664 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.
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.
This flaw can be triggered for static error pages only if the readonly property for the DefaultServlet is set to false in the $CATALINA_HOME/conf/web.xml file. The default for readonly is true.
If it is necessary to have the DefaultServlet property readonly=false, use a jsp error page, for example Error404.jsp rather than a static html error page. Alternatively do not specify an error-page in the Deployment Descriptor and use a custom ErrorReportValve.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2017-5664 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | tomcat6-0:6.0.24-111.el6_9 | RHSA-2017:3080 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | tomcat-0:7.0.69-12.el7_3 | RHSA-2017:1809 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.4 | see advisory | RHSA-2017:2633 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.4 for RHEL 5 | apache-cxf-0:2.7.18-7.SP6_redhat_1.1.ep6.el5 | RHSA-2017:2637 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.4 for RHEL 6 | apache-cxf-0:2.7.18-7.SP6_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6 | RHSA-2017:2635 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.4 for RHEL 6 | jboss-ec2-eap-0:7.5.17-1.Final_redhat_4.ep6.el6 | RHSA-2017:2638 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6.4 for RHEL 7 | apache-cxf-0:2.7.18-7.SP6_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7 | RHSA-2017:2636 |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 for RHEL 6 | jbcs-httpd24-openssl-1:1.0.2h-13.jbcs.el6 | RHSA-2017:2493 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2017-5664 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.