GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Tomcat Improper Input Validation vulnerability
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-r6j3-px5g-cq3x.
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-r6j3-px5g-cq3x 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☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core+4 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
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Apache Tomcat.Tomcat from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M11, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.13, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.81 and from 8.5.0 through 8.5.93 did not correctly parse HTTP trailer headers. A specially crafted, invalid trailer header could cause Tomcat to treat a single request as multiple requests leading to the possibility of request smuggling when behind a reverse proxy.
Older, EOL versions may also be affected.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0-M12 onwards, 10.1.14 onwards, 9.0.81 onwards or 8.5.94 onwards, which fix the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.0-M12 | 11.0.0-M12org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:11.0.0-M12 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.14 | 10.1.14org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:10.1.14 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 9.0.0-M1&&< 9.0.81 | 9.0.81org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:9.0.81 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | ≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.94 | 8.5.94org.apache.tomcat:tomcat:8.5.94 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.0-M12 | 11.0.0-M12org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:11.0.0-M12 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.14 | 10.1.14org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:10.1.14 |
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, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 11.0.0-M12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x 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-r6j3-px5g-cq3x can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-r6j3-px5g-cq3x -u https://target- Template
- Apache Tomcat - HTTP Request Smuggling
- Severity
- medium
- Impact
- Attackers can perform request smuggling, potentially leading to cache poisoning, session hijacking, or bypassing security controls.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to version 11.0.0-M12, 10.1.14, 9.0.81, or 8.5.94 or later.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (0x_Akoko), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
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.
The request smuggling is not guaranteed to have relevant information within every request and the scenario behind a reverse proxy which fails to handle the request too is necessary, hence the Moderate impact. The Red Hat AMQ Broker team removed any tomcat dependencies in version 7.11.3. Please refer to…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat-1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.2 | RHSA-2024:0125 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat-1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.1 | RHSA-2024:0474 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.12.1 | tomcat | RHSA-2023:7247 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | tomcat | RHSA-2023:6207 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.7 on RHEL 7 | jws5-tomcat-0:9.0.62-18.redhat_00016.1.el7jws | RHSA-2023:6206 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3 Containers | devspaces/server-rhel8:3.15-3 | RHSA-2024:4631 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-r6j3-px5g-cq3x across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.