`CVE-2003-0042`

5.0 Medium Protected by RASP

Description

Jakarta Tomcat before 3.3.1a, when used with JDK 1.3.1 or earlier, allows remote attackers to list directories even with an index.html or other file present, or obtain unprocessed source code for a JSP file, via a URL containing a null character.

CWE-22 · Path traversal

Exploitation Status

Working exploit published

A reviewed exploit catalogue carries this CVE. Somebody has published code a stranger can run.

CVSS E:P

CISA KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
Indexed PoC 1 indexed Published artifacts you can open, in Exploit-DB; first seen 2003-01-26.
EPSS 46% chance in 30 days A model prediction, not an observation. Higher than 99% of all scored CVEs.

Index	Artifact	Stars	First seen
Exploit-DB	Apache Tomcat 3.x - Null Byte Directory / File Disclosure		2003-01-26

Index

Artifact

Stars

First seen

Exploit-DB

Apache Tomcat 3.x - Null Byte Directory / File Disclosure

2003-01-26

Waratek Defense Posture

Protected by RASP

A Waratek agent blocks this today.

Applicable rule: Promoted to MITIGATED-BY-RASP (security rule): this CVE's weakness (CWE-22: Path Traversal) can be mitigated by an ARMR path-traversal security rule that blocks this class of attack at the JVM level, without requiring a CVE-specific patch.

Protection full a general security rule for the vulnerability class
Action available security rule
Review automated inferred
Record active

Decided by secure-rule-match : A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

Finding Promoted to MITIGATED-BY-RASP (security rule): this CVE's weakness (CWE-22: Path Traversal) can be mitigated by an ARMR path-traversal security rule that blocks this class of attack at the JVM level, without requiring a CVE-specific patch.

Decided by	`secure-rule-match` : A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule
Finding	Promoted to MITIGATED-BY-RASP (security rule): this CVE's weakness (CWE-22: Path Traversal) can be mitigated by an ARMR path-traversal security rule that blocks this class of attack at the JVM level, without requiring a CVE-specific patch.

CVSS

5.0 v2.0 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N 1 metric

VRT selects the newest version's highest entry and publishes it as cvssScore, newest rather than largest because scores are not comparable across versions, and highest rather than first because the first entry is frequently a CNA placeholder scoring 0.0 over NVD's own analysis.

Version Score Band Vector Assigner Type

CVSS 2.0 5.0 no band published AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N NVD Primary published

Version	Score	Band	Vector	Assigner	Type
CVSS 2.0	5.0	no band published	`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`	NVD	Primary	published

Affected Software & Releases

☕ Maven Library Packages

Artifact coordinates and fix boundaries from OSV.dev

Package Coordinate Introduced Fixed Last affected

org.apache.tomcat:tomcat 0 3.3.1a unbounded

Package Coordinate	Introduced	Fixed	Last affected
`org.apache.tomcat:tomcat`	0	`3.3.1a`	unbounded

🖥️ Product CPEs & Version Ranges

2 product(s) over 10 version claims (uncapped)

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected Versions
nvd	apache	tomcat	generic	3.0 · 3.1 · 3.1.1 · 3.2 · 3.2.1 · 3.2.3 · 3.2.4 · 3.3 · 3.3.1
osv	org.apache.tomcat	tomcat	generic	＜ 3.3.1

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected Versions

nvd

apache

tomcat

generic

3.0 · 3.1 · 3.1.1 · 3.2 · 3.2.1 · 3.2.3 · 3.2.4 · 3.3 · 3.3.1

osv

org.apache.tomcat

tomcat

generic

＜ 3.3.1

References

URL	Tags
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/11194	WEB
https://github.com/apache/tomcat	PACKAGE
http://jakarta.apache.org/builds/jakarta-tomcat/release/v3.3.1a	WEB
http://jakarta.apache.org/builds/jakarta-tomcat/release/v3.3.1a/RELEASE-NOTES-3.3.1a.txt	WEB
http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=104394568616290&w=2	WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/7972	WEB
http://secunia.com/advisories/7977	WEB
http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/n-060.shtml	WEB
http://www.debian.org/security/2003/dsa-246	WEB
http://www.securityfocus.com/advisories/5111	WEB

URL

Timeline

Published 2003-02-07 Last modified 2026-06-16

Published	2003-02-07	By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified	2026-06-16	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Published

2003-02-07

By the CVE Program.

NVD record modified

2026-06-16

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Pipeline policy audit (15 of 21 rules evaluated)

15 of 21 rules ran. The rest were never reached, because an earlier stage settled the CVE, a distinct claim from a rule that ran and found nothing.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? first match wins

1 rejected no-match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is the vulnerability ARMR's to address? first match wins

2 armr-patch-file no-match An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

3 armr-secure-rule-file no-match An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification no-match A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

5 manual classification no-match Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream no-match A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component no-match The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in. Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 osv-maven matched Queued for review Maven packages: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat

9 cna-maven-package not-reached An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

10 known-cpe-product not-reached An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

11 cna-cpe-product not-reached A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

12 oracle-advisory-family not-reached A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

13 non-deployable-product not-reached The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

14 unmatched-product not-reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? cumulative: every rule gets a turn

15 patch-hint no-match A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

16 open-source-maven matched Mitigation candidate Open-source Maven artifact indexed by OSV (Maven packages: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat). The source is public, which makes an ARMR patch rule a candidate; nothing here establishes that one can be written.

17 poc-derivable skipped An indexed exploit to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

18 no-exploit skipped With no fix path, a public exploit, or a CISA record of one

19 secure-rule-match decided it matched Protected by RASP CWE-22 (Path Traversal) is mitigable by an ARMR path-traversal security rule.

20 below-action-threshold skipped Medium or Low severity, no KEV listing, no PoC clearing the evidence bar, no CISA verdict, no Oracle advisory

21 no-exploit-published skipped A published working exploit for this candidate, not only a proof of concept, a forecast, or nothing at all

What the scope rules read

The products the record named, and whether known-products.yaml tracks them. This is the evidence the scope stage decided on.

Vendor Product Tracked CPE Source

apache tomcat tracked cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* yaml

Raw stored JSON document for this CVE ↗ · NVD ↗ · CVE.org ↗