GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-209 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote. 2 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 vulnerable to Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information
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 GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8.
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
GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 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 376,715 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.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat.experimental:tomcat-embed-programmaticReal-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
Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 8.5.7 through 8.5.63, from 9.0.0-M11 through 9.0.43.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 8.5.64 onwards or 9.0.44 onwards, which contain a fix for the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 9.0.0-M11&&< 9.0.44 | 9.0.44org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:9.0.44 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 8.5.7&&< 8.5.64 | 8.5.64org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:8.5.64 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 9.0.0-M11&&< 9.0.44 | 9.0.44org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:9.0.44 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 8.5.7&&< 8.5.64 | 8.5.64org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:8.5.64 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.experimental:tomcat-embed-programmatic | ≥ 9.0.43&&< 9.0.44 | 9.0.44org.apache.tomcat.experimental:tomcat-embed-programmatic:9.0.44 |
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 9.0.44 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 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 GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8. 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.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux remains unaffected as the vulnerable version of Tomcat (e.g., versions 8.5.7 through 8.5.63 and 9.0.0 through 9.0.43) has not been shipped or included.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.4.0 for Spring Boot | tomcat | RHSA-2024:2707 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.13.0 | tomcat | RHSA-2024:3354 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-f4qf-m5gf-8jm8 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.