CVE-2024-52316: Apache Tomcat - Authentication Bypass

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 6.2%, percentile 94: FIRST’s model estimates a 6.2% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 94% of all scored CVEs (elevated). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven) < 9.0.96, fixed in 9.0.96; org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven) >= 10.1.0-M1, < 10.1.30, fixed in 10.1.30; org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven) >= 11.0.0-M1, <= 11.0.0-M26, fixed in 11.0.1. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Unchecked Error Condition vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. If Tomcat is configured to use a custom Jakarta Authentication (formerly JASPIC) ServerAuthContext component which may throw an exception during the authentication process without explicitly setting an HTTP status to indicate failure, the authentication may not fail, allowing the user to bypass the authentication process. There are no known Jakarta Authentication components that behave in this way. This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M26, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.30, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.95. 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, 10.1.31 or 9.0.96, which fix the issue.

From the GitHub advisory

Unchecked Error Condition vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. If Tomcat is configured to use a custom Jakarta Authentication (formerly JASPIC) ServerAuthContext component which may throw an exception during the authentication process without explicitly setting an HTTP status to indicate failure, the authentication may not fail, allowing the user to bypass the authentication process. There are no known Jakarta Authentication components that behave in this way.

This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M26, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.30, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.95. 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.

Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0, 10.1.31 or 9.0.96, which fix the issue.

Weakness type: CWE-391, CWE-754.

Product: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina (Maven) · Assigned by: apache · Published: 2024-11-18

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 6.25% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 94.

Timeline

• 2024-11-18 — CVE record published by apache
• 2024-11-18 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xcpr-7mr4-h4xq published (critical)
• 2025-11-04 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vendor and project advisories, patches

1. lists.apache.org lists.apache.org

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-xcpr-7mr4-h4xq github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2024-52316 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2024-52316 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. openwall.com openwall.com
2. security.netapp.com security.netapp.com
3. lists.debian.org lists.debian.org
4. github.com github.com
5. github.com github.com
6. github.com github.com

Critical Maven advisories · Today’s Security Digest