Apache Tomcat: Padding Oracle vulnerability in EncryptInterceptorGHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8
HIGHFix: apache/tomcat@0112ed2GHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8 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.
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 GHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8.
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-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 |
Affected Products
tomcatapacheDetection & 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 GHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8 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.
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…
This vulnerability can be mitigated by removing the affected jar file from the tomcat installation. It can be achieved by running the following command as root: ~~~ systemctl stop tomcat rm -fv /usr/share/java/tomcat/catalina-tribes.jar systemctl start tomcat ~~~ It's important to notice if the Tomcat instance is configured to run with clustering, this may lead to errors when restarting the tomcat service. Red Hat's distributed Apache Tomcat should not be run with Clustering enabled, so make sure to disable such configuration before proceed with the mitigation if that's the case.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8 (CC BY 4.0)
| 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 GHSA-h468-7pvh-8vr8 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.