CVE-2016-1240
Description
The Tomcat init script in the tomcat7 package before 7.0.56-3+deb8u4 and tomcat8 package before 8.0.14-1+deb8u3 on Debian jessie and the tomcat6 and libtomcat6-java packages before 6.0.35-1ubuntu3.8 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, the tomcat7 and libtomcat7-java packages before 7.0.52-1ubuntu0.7 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and tomcat8 and libtomcat8-java packages before 8.0.32-1ubuntu1.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS allows local users with access to the tomcat account to gain root privileges via a symlink attack on the Catalina log file, as demonstrated by /var/log/tomcat7/catalina.out.
Predictions
Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.
Mitigations
No mitigations published for this CVE yet.
The vendor-content worker queues fetches as references arrive (check back in a few minutes). Or — if you've already worked around this in production — publish your fix to the community-verified tier.
✚ Propose a mitigation on Community → Mitigations published via the community go through AI scoring + 2 human reviewers + 7-day silent objection window before landing here withsource_tier=community-verified.
Exploits
Public proof-of-concept code below. AS-IS, for defenders and authorised testing only.
Exploit-DB
Apache Tomcat 8/7/6 (Debian-Based Distros) - Local Privilege Escalation
Metasploit modules
OS impact
Debian Fixed 1 release
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| 8.0 | Not affected | — |
Ubuntu Fixed 3 releases
| Version | Status | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| 16.04 | Not affected | — |
| 14.04 | Not affected | — |
| 12.04 | Not affected | — |
References
- http://legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-DebPkgs-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit-CVE-2016-1240.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170857/Apache-Tomcat-On-Ubuntu-Log-Init-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0457.html
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3669
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3670
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/539519/100/0/threaded
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93263
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036845
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3081-1
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0455
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0456
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201705-09
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180731-0002/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40450/
- http://legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-DebPkgs-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit-CVE-2016-1240.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170857/Apache-Tomcat-On-Ubuntu-Log-Init-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0457.html
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3669
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3670
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/539519/100/0/threaded
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93263
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036845
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3081-1
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0455
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0456
CWEs
CWE-20
Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.
Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.