CVE-2016-15057
Published: 26 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2016-15057 is a critical-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Apache Continuum. Its CVSS base score is 9.9 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 11.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-6 (Least Privilege) and SA-22 (Unsupported System Components).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2016-15057 is an improper neutralization of special elements used in a command, classified as a command injection vulnerability (CWE-77), affecting all versions of Apache Continuum. This flaw exists in the project's REST API, enabling attackers to inject and execute arbitrary commands on the affected server. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.9 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity due to its network accessibility, low attack complexity, low privilege requirements, lack of user interaction, and high impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability in a scoped environment.
Attackers who gain access to an Apache Continuum instance's REST API, requiring only low privileges (PR:L), can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network with minimal complexity. Successful exploitation allows them to invoke arbitrary operating system commands on the server, potentially leading to full system compromise, data exfiltration, or further lateral movement within the environment.
Advisories note that Apache Continuum is a retired project, marked as unsupported when this CVE was assigned, with no plans for a patching release. Mitigation recommendations include migrating to an alternative solution or strictly restricting REST API access to trusted users only. This issue exclusively impacts unsupported products, as detailed in the Apache mailing list announcement and OSS-Security discussion.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2016-10802
Vulnerability details
** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') vulnerability in Apache Continuum. This issue affects Apache Continuum: all versions. Attackers with access to the installations REST API can use this to invoke…
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arbitrary commands on the server. As this project is retired, we do not plan to release a version that fixes this issue. Users are recommended to find an alternative or restrict access to the instance to trusted users. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Command injection in network-accessible REST API (PR:L) enables exploitation of public-facing application (T1190), remote services (T1210), arbitrary command execution (T1059), and privilege escalation (T1068).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Mandates identification and replacement of unsupported system components like retired Apache Continuum, directly addressing the lack of patches and preventing exploitation of the command injection vulnerability.
Requires information input validation at REST API endpoints to neutralize special elements and block command injection attacks.
Enforces least privilege to restrict REST API access to only trusted users, mitigating exploitation by low-privilege (PR:L) attackers as recommended in advisories.