CVE-2026-29146 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-209 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Tomcat: EncryptInterceptor vulnerable to padding oracle attack by default
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-2026-29146.
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-2026-29146 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.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat+2 moreReal-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
Padding Oracle vulnerability in Apache Tomcat's EncryptInterceptor with default configuration.
This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.18, from 10.0.0-M1 through 10.1.52, from 9.0.13 through 9..115, from 8.5.38 through 8.5.100, from 7.0.100 through 7.0.109.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.19, 10.1.53 and 9.0.116, which fixes the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes | ≥ 9.0.13&&< 9.0.116 | 9.0.116org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes:9.0.116 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes | ≥ 10.1.50&&< 10.1.53 | 10.1.53org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes:10.1.53 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.20 | 11.0.20org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes:11.0.20 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 9.0.13&&< 9.0.116 | 9.0.116org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:9.0.116 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 10.1.50&&< 10.1.53 | 10.1.53org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:10.1.53 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.20 | 11.0.20org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:11.0.20 |
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-tribes, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-tribes to 9.0.116 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-29146 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-2026-29146 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-29146. 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.
Important: A padding oracle vulnerability exists in Apache Tomcat's EncryptInterceptor when using its default configuration. This flaw could allow a remote attacker to decrypt sensitive information by exploiting weaknesses in the encryption padding. This vulnerability is not exploitable in any supported Red Hat…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat-1:10.1.49-3.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:36788 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat9-1:9.0.117-2.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:36790 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:10.1.36-2.el10_0 | RHSA-2026:36787 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support | tomcat9-1:9.0.87-6.el10_0 | RHSA-2026:36789 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Extended Lifecycle Support | tomcat-0:7.0.76-18.el7_9 | RHSA-2026:38505 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-2.el8_10 | RHSA-2026:37137 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service | tomcat-1:9.0.87-2.el8_8 | RHSA-2026:37136 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat-1:9.0.117-2.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:36879 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-29146 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-29146 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.