CVE-2017-12615
Published: 19 September 2017
Summary
CVE-2017-12615 is a high-severity Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (CWE-434) vulnerability in Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus. 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.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and CM-7 (Least Functionality).
Deeper analysis
The vulnerability tracked as CVE-2017-12615 affects Apache Tomcat versions 7.0.0 through 7.0.79 running on Windows when the DefaultServlet is configured with its readonly initialization parameter set to false, enabling HTTP PUT requests. This configuration permits an attacker to upload a JSP file through a specially crafted request; once uploaded, the JSP can be accessed and executed by the server, resulting in arbitrary code execution. The issue is classified under CWE-434 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the flaw over the network by sending the crafted PUT request to upload a malicious JSP payload and then invoking it to execute code. Successful exploitation grants full control over the affected Tomcat instance, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability, although the attack requires the non-default PUT capability to be enabled and therefore receives a high attack-complexity rating.
Red Hat has published errata RHSA-2017:3080 and RHSA-2017:3081 that address the issue for supported products; additional details appear in vendor trackers such as SecurityFocus and SecurityTracker.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2018-0654
Vulnerability details
When running Apache Tomcat 7.0.0 to 7.0.79 on Windows with HTTP PUTs enabled (e.g. via setting the readonly initialisation parameter of the Default to false) it was possible to upload a JSP file to the server via a specially crafted…
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request. This JSP could then be requested and any code it contained would be executed by the server.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 25 March 2022
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Disabling HTTP PUT (or enforcing readonly=true) directly removes the non-least-functionality capability that enables the JSP upload in this CVE.
Enforcing secure baseline settings for the DefaultServlet prevents the exact Tomcat configuration that allows unauthenticated PUT-based JSP deployment.
Access enforcement can restrict or require authentication for PUT operations, blocking the unauthenticated upload vector used by the CVE.