How severe is GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c affects the following packages: org.apache.struts:struts2-core (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

Update org.apache.struts:struts2-core to 2.5.30 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c in my Maven dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 13 known exploit references for GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c, including 7 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 85.4%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c is classified as Expression Language Injection (CWE-917). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c?

A Nuclei detection template exists for GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c was published on April 13, 2022 and was last updated on February 20, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c — struts2-core

CRITICAL

GHSA-v8j6-6c2r-r27c is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Expression Language Injection vulnerability in org.apache.struts:struts2-core. 13 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.struts:struts2-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Expression Language Injection in Apache Struts

Also known asCVE-2021-31805

Published

Apr 13, 2022

Updated

Feb 20, 2024

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

13 known

Exploitation data as of Sep 19, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

85.4%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

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-v8j6-6c2r-r27c plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕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 fix issued for CVE-2020-17530 was incomplete. So from Apache Struts 2.0.0 to 2.5.29, still some of the tag’s attributes could perform a double evaluation if a developer applied forced OGNL evaluation by using the %{...} syntax. Using forced OGNL evaluation on untrusted user input can lead to a Remote Code Execution and security degradation.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.struts:struts2-core`	≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.5.30	2.5.30`org.apache.struts:struts2-core:2.5.30`

Exploits & PoCs

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