CVE-2024-24749 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app. A fix is available for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Classpath resource disclosure in GWC Web Resource API on Windows / 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-2024-24749.
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-2024-24749 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 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app☕org.geoserver:gs-gwc☕org.geoserver:gs-gwcReal-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
Impact
If GeoServer is deployed in the Windows operating system using an Apache Tomcat web application server, it is possible to bypass existing input validation in the GeoWebCache ByteStreamController class and read arbitrary classpath resources with specific file name extensions.
If GeoServer is also deployed as a web archive using the data directory embedded in the geoserver.war file (rather than an external data directory), it will likely be possible to read specific resources to gain administrator privileges. However, it is very unlikely that production environments will be using the embedded data directory since, depending on how GeoServer is deployed, it will be erased and re-installed (which would also reset to the default password) either every time the server restarts or every time a new GeoServer WAR is installed and is therefore difficult to maintain. An external data directory will always be used if GeoServer is running in standalone mode (via an installer or a binary).
Patches
https://github.com/GeoWebCache/geowebcache/pull/1211
Workarounds
Change environment:
- Change from Windows operating system. This vulnerability depends on Windows file paths so Linux and Mac OS are not vulnerable.
- Change from Apache Tomcat application server. Jetty and WildFly are confirmed to not be vulnerable. Other application servers have not been tested and may be vulnerable.
Disable anonymous access to the embeded GeoWebCache administration and status pages:
- Navigate to Security > Authentication Page
- Locate Filter Chains heading
- Select the
webfilter filter chain (ant pattern/web/**,/gwc/rest/web/**,/) - Remove
,/gwc/rest/web/**from the pattern (so that/web/**,/is left). - Save the changes
References
- CVE-Pending
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | all versions | 2.23.5org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.23.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app | ≥ 2.24.0&&< 2.24.3 | 2.24.3org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app:2.24.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver:gs-gwc | all versions | 2.23.5org.geoserver:gs-gwc:2.23.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.geoserver:gs-gwc | ≥ 2.24.0&&< 2.24.3 | 2.24.3org.geoserver:gs-gwc:2.24.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.geoserver.web:gs-web-app to 2.23.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-24749 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-2024-24749 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-24749. 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-2024-24749 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-24749 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.