Vulnerability Database

328,725

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2020-1938

When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat. Tomcat treats AJP connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exploited in ways that may be surprising. In Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.30, 8.5.0 to 8.5.50 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.99, Tomcat shipped with an AJP Connector enabled by default that listened on all configured IP addresses. It was expected (and recommended in the security guide) that this Connector would be disabled if not required. This vulnerability report identified a mechanism that allowed: - returning arbitrary files from anywhere in the web application - processing any file in the web application as a JSP Further, if the web application allowed file upload and stored those files within the web application (or the attacker was able to control the content of the web application by some other means) then this, along with the ability to process a file as a JSP, made remote code execution possible. It is important to note that mitigation is only required if an AJP port is accessible to untrusted users. Users wishing to take a defence-in-depth approach and block the vector that permits returning arbitrary files and execution as JSP may upgrade to Apache Tomcat 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later. A number of changes were made to the default AJP Connector configuration in 9.0.31 to harden the default configuration. It is likely that users upgrading to 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later will need to make small changes to their configurations.

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: Critical
  • Score: 9.8
  • AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 7.5
  • AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CWEs:

Software From Fixed in
apache / geode 1.12.0 1.12.0.x
fedoraproject / fedora 30 30.x
fedoraproject / fedora 31 31.x
fedoraproject / fedora 32 32.x
oracle / transportation_management 6.3.7 6.3.7.x
oracle / hospitality_guest_access 4.2.0 4.2.0.x
oracle / hospitality_guest_access 4.2.1 4.2.1.x
oracle / agile_plm 9.3.3 9.3.3.x
oracle / agile_plm 9.3.5 9.3.5.x
oracle / agile_plm 9.3.6 9.3.6.x
oracle / instantis_enterprisetrack 17.1 17.3.x
oracle / mysql_enterprise_monitor - 4.0.12.x
oracle / health_sciences_empirica_signal 7.3.3 7.3.3.x
oracle / communications_instant_messaging_server 10.0.1.4.0 10.0.1.4.0.x
oracle / communications_element_manager 8.2.0 8.2.0.x
oracle / communications_element_manager 8.2.1 8.2.1.x
oracle / communications_element_manager 8.1.1 8.1.1.x
oracle / workload_manager 18c 18c.x
oracle / workload_manager 19c 19c.x
oracle / workload_manager 12.2.0.1 12.2.0.1.x
oracle / mysql_enterprise_monitor 8.0.0 8.0.20.x
oracle / agile_engineering_data_management 6.2.1.0 6.2.1.0.x
oracle / siebel_ui_framework - 20.5.x
oracle / health_sciences_empirica_inspections 1.0.1.2 1.0.1.2.x
debian / debian_linux 8.0 8.0.x
debian / debian_linux 9.0 9.0.x
debian / debian_linux 10.0 10.0.x
opensuse / leap 15.1 15.1.x
blackberry / good_control - 5.2.58.38.x
blackberry / workspaces_server 7.0.1 7.0.1.x
blackberry / workspaces_server 7.1.2 7.1.2.x
blackberry / workspaces_server 9.0 9.0.x
blackberry / workspaces_server 8.1.0 8.1.0.x
Maven icon org.apache.tomcat.embed / tomcat-embed-core 9.0.0 9.0.31
Maven icon org.apache.tomcat.embed / tomcat-embed-core 8.0.0 8.5.51
Maven icon org.apache.tomcat.embed / tomcat-embed-core 7.0.0 7.0.100
netapp / oncommand_system_manager 3.0.0 3.1.3.x
apache / tomcat 9.0.0 9.0.31
apache / tomcat 7.0.0 7.0.100
apache / tomcat 8.5.0 8.5.51

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.

Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.

Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.