Apache Struts OGNL Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Actively exploited in the wild. Patch or mitigate immediately — don't wait for a maintenance window.
An unauthenticated attacker, remotely over the network, with no user interaction, can fully compromise the system — steal data, tamper with it and take it offline.
The ExceptionDelegator component in Apache Struts before 2.2.3.1 interprets parameter values as OGNL expressions during certain exception handling for mismatched data types of properties, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via a crafted parameter.
Inferred from the weakness type (CWE) and how the flaw is reached — the techniques an attacker would chain to exploit this. Real-world corroboration appears here as threat intel is folded in.
Corroborated threat activity referencing this CVE — with source and confidence, not inference.
Named threat actors and observed ATT&CK techniques appear here as intel feeds are folded in — the ATT&CK chain above stays inferred until then.
Generated by Wavense from the CVE record — an immediate mitigation and the permanent fix.
Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to detect and block suspicious OGNL expressions or unusual parameter values in HTTP requests targeting Struts applications. Restrict network access to affected applications to trusted users or IP ranges, if feasible, to reduce exposure. Enhance monitoring of application logs for unusual exception patterns or OGNL evaluation errors, which may signal an ongoing exploit attempt.
Upgrade Apache Struts to version 2.2.3.1 or a later stable release immediately to address the OGNL expression injection flaw. This vulnerability specifically affects Apache Struts versions prior to 2.2.3.1 in the ExceptionDelegator component. Applying the vendor-provided patch is the permanent solution to prevent arbitrary code execution via crafted parameters during exception handling.
Remote attackers can execute arbitrary Java code on the server running the vulnerable Apache Struts application. This allows for complete system compromise, enabling data exfiltration, service disruption, and the ability to pivot to other internal network resources. The consequences are severe, including potential loss of sensitive data and operational integrity.
Other CVEs affecting struts
Forced OGNL evaluation, when evaluated on raw user input in tag attributes, may lead to remote code execution. Affected software : Apache Struts 2.0.0 - Struts 2.5.25.
The Struts 1 plugin in Apache Struts 2.1.x and 2.3.x might allow remote code execution via a malicious field value passed in a raw message to the ActionMessage.
The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.
Apache Struts 2.0.0 through 2.3.15 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OGNL expressions via a parameter with a crafted (1) action:, (2) redirect:, or (3) redirectAction: prefix.
Apache Struts versions 2.3 to 2.3.34 and 2.5 to 2.5.16 suffer from possible Remote Code Execution when alwaysSelectFullNamespace is true (either by user or a plugin like Convention Plugin) and then: results are used with no namespace and in same time, its upper package have no or wildcard namespace and similar to results, same possibility when using url tag which doesn't have value and action set and in same time, its upper package have no or wildcard namespace.
The REST Plugin in Apache Struts 2.1.1 through 2.3.x before 2.3.34 and 2.5.x before 2.5.13 uses an XStreamHandler with an instance of XStream for deserialization without any type filtering, which can lead to Remote Code Execution when deserializing XML payloads.
ActionForm in Apache Software Foundation (ASF) Struts before 1.2.9 with BeanUtils 1.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a multipart/form-data encoded form with a parameter name that references the public getMultipartRequestHandler method, which provides further access to elements in the CommonsMultipartRequestHandler implementation and BeanUtils.
Improper neutralization of special elements used in an expression language statement ('Expression Language Injection') vulnerability in Apache Struts. If the application is configured to use the legacy RESTful action mapper, a crafted request can inject an OGNL expression that may lead to remote code execution. Struts 7 is affected only when the OGNL allowlist is disabled; it is enabled by default. Applications using the default action mapper, the restful2 mapper, or the Struts REST plugin are not affected. This issue affects Apache Struts: from 2.0.0 through 2.3.37, from 2.5.0 through 2.5.33, from 6.0.0 through 6.11.0, from 7.0.0 through 7.3.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 6.12.0 or 7.4.0, which fixes the issue.