CVE-2024-50379 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-367 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina. 10 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Tomcat: RCE due to TOCTOU issue in JSP compilation
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-50379.
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-catalina☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina☕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
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition vulnerability during JSP compilation in Apache Tomcat permits an RCE on case insensitive file systems when the default servlet is enabled for write (non-default configuration).
This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.1, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.33, from 9.0.0.M1 through 9.0.97.
The following versions were EOL at the time the CVE was created but are known to be affected: 8.5.0 though 8.5.100. Other, older, EOL versions may also be affected.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.2, 10.1.34 or 9.0.98, which fixes the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.2 | 11.0.2org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:11.0.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.34 | 10.1.34org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:10.1.34 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina | ≥ 9.0.0.M1&&< 9.0.98 | 9.0.98org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina:9.0.98 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.2 | 11.0.2org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:11.0.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.34 | 10.1.34org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:10.1.34 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 9.0.0.M1&&< 9.0.98 | 9.0.98org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:9.0.98 |
Affected Products
tomcatapachebootstrap osnetappResearch 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-catalina, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina to 11.0.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-50379 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 only be exploited when the `readonly` initialization parameter value is set to `false`, when running on case insensitive file systems and when the application is under load, specifically when read and upload operations are performed on the same file simultaneously. The default `readonly` initialization…
Consider setting the readonly initialization parameter value to true (the default value), if that is not possible, do not use a case-insensitive file system.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2024-50379 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat9-1:9.0.87-5.el10_0.1 | RHSA-2025:11332 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_10.3 | RHSA-2025:3683 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_8.4 | RHSA-2025:3684 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-2.el9_5.1 | RHSA-2025:3645 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support | pki-servlet-engine-1:9.0.50-1.el9_2.2 | RHSA-2025:1920 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_2.3 | RHSA-2025:3646 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_4.3 | RHSA-2025:3647 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | tomcat | RHSA-2025:0362 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-50379 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.