`CVE-2016-1240` Tomcat

Affected software	Tomcat
Severity	7.8 High CVSS 3.0 2 scores
Weakness	Improper input validation (CWE-20)
Published	3 Oct 2016
Updated	17 Jun 2026

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.

Exploitation status

Working exploit published

A reviewed exploit catalogue lists ready-to-run exploit code for this CVE.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment no assessment published
Indexed PoC 4 indexed Published artifacts you can open, in Exploit-DB, GitHub PoC, Metasploit; first seen 2016-10-03.
EPSS 9.8% chance in 30 days

2 of these are GitHub repositories with fewer than 5 stars. They are listed for reference and don't count toward the exploitation status above.

Index	Artifact	Stars	First seen
GitHub PoC	Reproducible exploits for: CVE-2016-1240 CVE-2008-2938 CVE-2014-2064 CVE-2014-1904	1	2016-10-13
GitHub PoC	CVE-2016-1240 exploit and patch		2018-12-02
Exploit-DB	Apache Tomcat 8/7/6 (Debian-Based Distros) - Local Privilege Escalation		2016-10-03
Metasploit	Apache Tomcat on Ubuntu Log Init Privilege Escalation (manual rank)

Index

Artifact

Stars

First seen

GitHub PoC

Reproducible exploits for: CVE-2016-1240 CVE-2008-2938 CVE-2014-2064 CVE-2014-1904

2016-10-13

GitHub PoC

CVE-2016-1240 exploit and patch

2018-12-02

Exploit-DB

Apache Tomcat 8/7/6 (Debian-Based Distros) - Local Privilege Escalation

2016-10-03

Metasploit

Apache Tomcat on Ubuntu Log Init Privilege Escalation (manual rank)

Waratek protection

Mitigation candidate

A kind of vulnerability Waratek's rules address, with exploit code published or exploitation reported. No rule exists and none is planned yet. The decision below says what we found to build a rule from.

Protection none
Action unverified
Review automated Inferred
Record active

Decided by	An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read
Finding	Mitigation candidate: 4 public proof-of-concept exploit(s) are indexed for this CVE (exploit-db, github-poc, metasploit), but the affected code is not open source. That makes an ARMR patch rule a candidate rather than a plan. The exploit gives a reproducible entry point to trace inward from and a test to validate a hook against, which is what makes reverse engineering tractable at all. No rule exists and none is scheduled: the hook point must be recovered by decompiling the affected code, and a closer look may find none that ARMR can act on.

Decided by

An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

Finding

Mitigation candidate: 4 public proof-of-concept exploit(s) are indexed for this CVE (exploit-db, github-poc, metasploit), but the affected code is not open source. That makes an ARMR patch rule a candidate rather than a plan. The exploit gives a reproducible entry point to trace inward from and a test to validate a hook against, which is what makes reverse engineering tractable at all. No rule exists and none is scheduled: the hook point must be recovered by decompiling the affected code, and a closer look may find none that ARMR can act on.

CVSS

7.8 HIGH v3.0 CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H 2 metrics

We show the highest score from the newest CVSS version. Scores from different versions can't be compared, and the first score listed is sometimes a 0.0 placeholder.

Version Score Band Vector Assigner Type

CVSS 3.0 7.8 HIGH CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H NVD Primary published

CVSS 2.0 7.2 none AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C NVD Primary

Version	Score	Band	Vector	Assigner	Type
CVSS 3.0	7.8	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`	NVD	Primary	published
CVSS 2.0	7.2	none	`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`	NVD	Primary

Affected software and releases

Products and versions

1 product, 3 version entries

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	apache	tomcat	generic	6.0 · 7.0 · 8.0

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

apache

tomcat

generic

6.0 · 7.0 · 8.0

References

URL	Tags
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	Third Party Advisory
http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3670	Third Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/539519/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93263
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036845	Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3081-1	Third Party Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0455

URL

Timeline

Published	2016-10-03	By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified	2026-06-17	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Published

2016-10-03

By the CVE Program.

NVD record modified

2026-06-17

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

How VRT decided (19 of 24 rules ran)

19 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

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 JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side no match Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven no match An OSV.dev record of this CVE affecting a package published to Maven Central. When every such package is one business applications do not use (Minecraft mods and launchers, Fastjson) and no tracked product is named by CPE, it settles the CVE as Outside Waratek scope instead

10 cna-maven-package no match An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product matched In scope Matches known products: apache/tomcat

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

13 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.

14 cna-named-product not reached A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

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

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

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

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

18 open-source-maven no match The affected package being open source on Maven, so the fix can be read

19 poc-derivable decided it matched Mitigation candidate 4 public PoC(s) indexed in exploit-db, github-poc, metasploit, with no public source. The exploit is a starting point for deriving an ARMR patch rule by reverse engineering; nothing here establishes a hook point exists.

20 no-exploit skipped Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match no match A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc skipped Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold no match Severity is HIGH — only MEDIUM/LOW are deprioritized

24 no-exploit-published no match A CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, a CISA verdict of active exploitation, a reviewed exploit catalogue, or a GitHub PoC with 5 or more stars carries this CVE — exploit code is in use or published, so it stays a candidate

Products the scope rules checked

The products this CVE's record names, and whether VRT tracks each one. The scope rules decided on these.

Vendor Product Tracked CPE Source

apache tomcat tracked cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* yaml

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