Security Resilience

CVE-2016-3081

RCE in Apache Struts 2.0.0 … 2.3.8

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
26 April 2016
Modified
09 October 2026
KEV Added
08 October 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.96 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 86 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2016-3081 is a high-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Apache Struts. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Apache Struts 2.3.19 to 2.3.20.2, 2.3.21 to 2.3.24.1, and 2.3.25 to 2.3.28, when Dynamic Method Invocation is enabled, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via method: prefix, related to chained expressions.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
08 October 2026

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

Microsoft Corp. (Salesforce / Slack engineer recruitment claims)
Chinese Government-linked Cyber Threat Actors Combine Automated and Hands-on Hacking Tools to Steal Sensitive Data | CISA
AnonOps
Chinese Government-linked Cyber Threat Actors Combine Automated and Hands-on Hacking Tools to Steal Sensitive Data | CISA
Flax Typhoon
Chinese Government-linked Cyber Threat Actors Combine Automated and Hands-on Hacking Tools to Steal Sensitive Data | CISA

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2012-0391Same product: Apache Strutsboth on KEV
CVE-2017-9791Same product: Apache Strutsboth on KEV
CVE-2020-17530Same product: Apache Strutsboth on KEV
CVE-2019-17558Same vendor: Apacheboth on KEV
CVE-2006-1547Same product: Apache Strutsboth on KEV
CVE-2018-11776Same product: Apache Strutsboth on KEV
CVE-2007-3010Shared CWE-77both on KEV
CVE-2020-25079Shared CWE-77both on KEV
CVE-2024-55956Shared CWE-77both on KEV
CVE-2022-40765Shared CWE-77both on KEV

Affected Assets

apache
struts
2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.10, 2.0.11, 2.0.11.1
oracle
siebel e-billing
7.1

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing (scans/penetration), and developer training that reduce command injection defects, but leaves a minority slice (e.g. incomplete implementation of those practices, outsourced development without full assurance, or post-SDLC changes) where the weakness can still arise and be exploitable.

blocks

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. distrust external input, secure session control, data validation/sanitization, least privilege) and design reviews that can stop command injection from being introduced, but this is only a minority slice of CWE-77 because the weakness can still arise in code that bypasses those principles, in non-reviewed components, or in runtime injection vectors the architecture review does not reach.

prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.

finds

Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-77, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References