CVE-2024-24549 — tomcat-coyote
HIGHCVE-2024-24549 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote. 4 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Tomcat: HTTP/2 header handling DoS
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2024-24549.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2024-24549 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,238 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-coreReal-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
Denial of Service due to improper input validation vulnerability for HTTP/2 requests in Apache Tomcat. When processing an HTTP/2 request, if the request exceeded any of the configured limits for headers, the associated HTTP/2 stream was not reset until after all of the headers had been processed.This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M16, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.18, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.85, from 8.5.0 through 8.5.98. Other, older, EOL versions may also be affected.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0-M17, 10.1.19, 9.0.86 or 8.5.99 which fix the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.0-M17 | 11.0.0-M17org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:11.0.0-M17 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.19 | 10.1.19org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:10.1.19 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 9.0.0-M1&&< 9.0.86 | 9.0.86org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:9.0.86 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.99 | 8.5.99org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:8.5.99 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.99 | 8.5.99org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:8.5.99 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 9.0.0-M1&&< 9.0.86 | 9.0.86org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:9.0.86 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
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-coyote, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote to 11.0.0-M17 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-24549 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-2024-24549 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-24549. 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.
This vulnerability presents an Important severity issue due to its potential to facilitate various forms of attack, particularly in the context of HTTP/2 protocol. By delaying the reset of HTTP/2 streams until after processing all headers, malicious actors can exploit this window to execute header manipulation…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| JWS 5.7.8 | tomcat | RHSA-2024:1319 |
| JWS 6.0.1 | tomcat | RHSA-2024:1325 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_10.1 | RHSA-2024:3666 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_8.2 | RHSA-2024:3814 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_4.1 | RHSA-2024:3307 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_2.1 | RHSA-2024:3308 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.7 on RHEL 7 | jws5-tomcat-0:9.0.62-41.redhat_00020.1.el7jws | RHSA-2024:1318 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6.0 on RHEL 8 | jws6-tomcat-0:10.1.8-6.redhat_00013.1.el8jws | RHSA-2024:1324 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-24549 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-24549 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.