GHSA-wm9w-rjj3-j356 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core. A fix is available for org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core — 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-wm9w-rjj3-j356.
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.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote☕org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-coreReal-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 Handling of Exceptional Conditions, Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. When processing an HTTP/2 stream, Tomcat did not handle some cases of excessive HTTP headers correctly. This led to a miscounting of active HTTP/2 streams which in turn led to the use of an incorrect infinite timeout which allowed connections to remain open which should have been closed.
This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M20, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.24, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.89.
The following versions were EOL at the time the CVE was created but are known to be affected: 8.5.0 though 8.5.100. Other EOL versions may also be affected.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0-M21, 10.1.25 or 9.0.90, which fixes the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.0-M21 | 11.0.0-M21org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:11.0.0-M21 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.25 | 10.1.25org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:10.1.25 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core | ≥ 9.0.0-M1&&< 9.0.90 | 9.0.90org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core:9.0.90 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 11.0.0-M1&&< 11.0.0-M21 | 11.0.0-M21org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:11.0.0-M21 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 10.1.0-M1&&< 10.1.25 | 10.1.25org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:10.1.25 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote | ≥ 9.0.0-M1&&< 9.0.90 | 9.0.90org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote:9.0.90 |
Affected Products
tomcatapacheontap toolsnetappDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core to 11.0.0-M21 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-wm9w-rjj3-j356 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
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.
This vulnerability in Apache Tomcat is significant due to its impact on the stability and security of web applications relying on HTTP/2. The improper handling of excessive HTTP headers during HTTP/2 stream processing leads to an inaccurate count of active streams. This miscount causes the application to apply an…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-wm9w-rjj3-j356 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | tomcat9-1:9.0.110-2.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:18536 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support | tomcat9-1:9.0.120-1.el10_0 | RHSA-2026:67163 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_10.2 | RHSA-2024:5694 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el8_8.3 | RHSA-2024:5695 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_4.2 | RHSA-2024:5693 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support | tomcat-1:9.0.87-1.el9_2.2 | RHSA-2024:5696 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | jws5-tomcat | RHSA-2024:5025 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.8 on RHEL 7 | jws5-tomcat-0:9.0.87-5.redhat_00005.1.el7jws | RHSA-2024:5024 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-wm9w-rjj3-j356 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.