How severe is GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq?

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq?

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq affects the following packages: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util (Maven), org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq?

Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util to 9.0.0.M14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq 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.

Is GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq?

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 16.0%, placing it in the 97th 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. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

What type of vulnerability is GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq?

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq is classified as CWE-388 (CWE-388). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq published, and has it been updated?

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq was published on May 14, 2022 and was last updated on September 2, 2025. 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

HIGH severity

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization in Apache TomcatGHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq

HIGHFix: apache/tomcat@143bb46

GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-388 vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 16.0% (97th percentile). A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Also known asCVE-2016-8745

Published

May 14, 2022

Updated

Sep 2, 2025

Affected

5 pkgs

Patched

5 / 5

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 2, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

16.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs97th percentile — riskier than 97% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

5 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util

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

A bug in the error handling of the send file code for the NIO HTTP connector in Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.M13, 8.5.0 to 8.5.8, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.39, 7.0.0 to 7.0.73 and 6.0.16 to 6.0.48 resulted in the current Processor object being added to the Processor cache multiple times. This in turn meant that the same Processor could be used for concurrent requests. Sharing a Processor can result in information leakage between requests including, not not limited to, session ID and the response body. The bug was first noticed in 8.5.x onwards where it appears the refactoring of the Connector code for 8.5.x onwards made it more likely that the bug was observed. Initially it was thought that the 8.5.x refactoring introduced the bug but further investigation has shown that the bug is present in all currently supported Tomcat versions.

Affected Packages

5 total 5 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util`	≥ 9.0.0.M1&&< 9.0.0.M14	9.0.0.M14`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util:9.0.0.M14`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util`	≥ 8.5.0&&< 8.5.9	8.5.9`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util:8.5.9`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util`	≥ 8.0.0-RC1&&< 8.0.41	8.0.41`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util:8.0.41`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util`	≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.75	7.0.75`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util:7.0.75`
☕Maven	`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util`	≥ 6.0.16&&< 6.0.50	6.0.50`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util:6.0.50`

Affected Products

1 product · 138 configurations

Application

tomcatapache

123 versions

7.0.07.0.17.0.27.0.37.0.47.0.57.0.67.0.77.0.87.0.97.0.117.0.12

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-util to 9.0.0.M14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq 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.

Red HatImportant

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	`tomcat6-0:6.0.24-105.el6_8`	RHSA-2017:0527
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7	`tomcat-0:7.0.69-11.el7_3`	RHSA-2017:0935
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1	see advisory	RHSA-2017:0457
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6	`hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6`	RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7	`hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7`	RHSA-2017:0456

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is GHSA-w3j5-q8f2-3cqq in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

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