Your RSA-2048 keys break in 2030. Find every one of them before attackers do.
☕
☕ Maven
CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED
CRITICAL severity

Apache Struts vulnerable to remote arbitrary command execution due to improper input validationGHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989

CRITICALFix: apache/struts@b06dd50

GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-755 vulnerability in org.apache.struts:struts2-core. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) and has been used in ransomware campaigns — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. A fix is available for org.apache.struts:struts2-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Also known asCVE-2017-5638
Published
Updated
Affected
2 pkgs
Patched
2 / 2
Exploits
57 known
Exploitation data as of Oct 22, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

  • Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 — including use in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03.
  • 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 (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
100.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Very High Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
92.5%95.0%97.5%100.0%94.3%100.0%Apr 26Aug 26Oct 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected
☕org.apache.struts:struts2-core☕org.apache.struts:struts2-core

Real-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

The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.struts:struts2-core≥ 2.3.0&&< 2.3.322.3.32org.apache.struts:struts2-core:2.3.32
☕Mavenorg.apache.struts:struts2-core≥ 2.5.0&&< 2.5.10.12.5.10.1org.apache.struts:struts2-core:2.5.10.1

Affected Products

9 products · 21 configurations
Application
strutsapache
≥ 2.5.0 && < 2.5.10.1
range
Application
clearpass policy managerarubanetworks
< 6.6.5
range
Application
server automationhp
5 versions
9.1.010.0.010.1.010.2.010.5.0
OS
storwize v3500 firmwareibm
2 versions
7.7.1.67.8.1.0
OS
storwize v5000 firmwareibm
2 versions
7.7.1.67.8.1.0
OS
storwize v7000 firmwareibm
2 versions
7.7.1.67.8.1.0
Exploits & PoCs
57

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-41614remotemultiple✓ Verified

Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - 'Jakarta' Multipart Parser OGNL Injection (Metasploit)

by Metasploit · Mar 15, 2017

Exploit-DB Source
EDB-41570webappslinux✓ Verified

Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - Remote Code Execution

by Vex Woo · Mar 7, 2017

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.struts:struts2-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.struts:struts2-core to 2.3.32 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. 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 to detect GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989

A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:

nuclei -id ghsa-j77q-2qqg-6989 -u https://target
Template
Apache Struts 2 - Remote Command Execution
Severity
critical
Impact
Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands on the target system.
Remediation
Upgrade to Apache Struts 2.3.32 or 2.5.10.1 or apply the necessary patches.

Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (Random_Robbie), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache Struts versions prior to 2.3.32 and 2.5.10.1 contain incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts using the Jakarta Multipart parser, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works
Apache Struts vulnerable to remote arbitrary command…