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CVE-2020-1938

9.8 · CRITICALActively Exploited

When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat.

Published Feb 24, 2020EPSS 99.27%

Overview

CVE-2020-1938 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on February 24, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

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, alon

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-1938?

CVE-2020-1938 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on February 24, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2020-1938?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-1938?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-1938?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2020-1938 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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