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CVE-2023-50164 Struts

Affected softwareStruts
Severity9.8 Critical CVSS 3.1
Fixed in2.5.33, 6.3.0.2
WeaknessCWE-552
Published7 Dec 2023
Updated17 Jun 2026

Description

An attacker can manipulate file upload params to enable paths traversal and under some circumstances this can lead to uploading a malicious file which can be used to perform Remote Code Execution. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions Struts 2.5.33 or Struts 6.3.0.2 or greater to fix this issue.

Exploitation status

Exploited

Real-world exploitation reported by VulnCheck KEV. CISA has not confirmed it.

  • CISA KEV not listed
  • VulnCheck KEV listed Exploitation reported in the wild. 5 citations · honeypot sightings · 8 exploits · earliest 2024-01-31.
  • CISA Vulnrichment exploitation: poc CISA recorded that an exploit has been demonstrated. Automatable: yes, technical impact: total.
  • Indexed PoC 14 indexed Published artifacts you can open, in GitHub PoC; first seen 2023-12-13.
  • EPSS 81% chance in 30 days A model's forecast, not a report of exploitation. Higher than 99.6% of all scored CVEs.

VulnCheck KEV

Exploitation evidence from VulnCheck Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (VulnCheck KEV), used under VulnCheck's community terms. View CVE-2023-50164 in VulnCheck (free account), which lists 3 more exploit references not shown here.

EvidenceSourceDetailDate
Honeypot sighting SANS DShield sensors Exploitation attempts seen on 1 day 2024-12-15
Reported exploitation sentinelone.com /resources/watchtower-end-of-year-report-2023 2024-01-31
Reported exploitation blog.cloudflare.com /application-security-report-2024-update 2024-07-11
Reported exploitation go.catonetworks.com /rs/245-RJK-441/images/CATO_CTRL_Report_Q3_2024.pdf 2024-11-20
Reported exploitation isc.sans.edu /diary/Exploit+attempts+inspired+by+recent+Struts2+File+Upload+Vulnerability+CVE202453677+CVE202350164/31520 2024-12-15
Reported exploitation app.crowdsec.net /cti/cve-explorer/CVE-2023-50164 2025-06-08
Exploit reference VulnCheck XDB 2eedf38daab7 Exploit type: initial-access 2023-12-15
Exploit reference VulnCheck XDB 6b23f76ae74b Exploit type: initial-access 2023-12-17
Exploit reference VulnCheck XDB 83f6fcc57b59 Exploit type: initial-access 2023-12-30
Exploit reference VulnCheck XDB 17870a6362f9 Exploit type: initial-access 2024-01-09
Exploit reference VulnCheck XDB 78854c0dc088 Exploit type: initial-access 2024-04-16

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

IndexArtifactStarsFirst seen
GitHub PoC A critical security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-50164 (CVE: 9.8) was found in Apache Struts, allowing attackers to manipulate file upload parameters that can potentially lead to unauthorized path traversal and remote code execution (RCE). 84 2023-12-13
GitHub PoC Proof of Concept for Path Traversal in Apache Struts ("CVE-2023-50164") 57 2023-12-17
GitHub PoC snyk-labs/CVE-2023-50164-POC 6 2023-12-30
GitHub PoC Vulnerable docker container for Apache Struts 2 RCE CVE-2023-50164 6 2023-12-20
GitHub PoC A scanning utility and PoC for CVE-2023-50164 4 2023-12-15
GitHub PoC Vulnerable docker container for Really Simple Security (Free, Pro, and Pro Multisite) 9.0.0 – 9.1.1.1 – Authentication Bypass CVE-2023-50164 3 2024-11-20
GitHub PoC CVE-2023-50164 (Apache Struts path traversal to RCE vulnerability) - Proof of Concept 2 2024-01-12
GitHub PoC Pixel-DefaultBR/CVE-2023-50164 1 2025-03-05
GitHub PoC CVE-2023-50164 PoC Application & Exploit script 1 2024-10-06
GitHub PoC aaronm-sysdig/cve-2023-50164 1 2023-12-22

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 The affected package being open source on Maven, so the fix can be read
Finding This CVE affects an open-source Java library published on Maven Central (Maven packages: org.apache.struts:struts2-core), so it is squarely in ARMR's territory and the source needed to understand the defect is public. That makes it a candidate for an ARMR patch rule. No rule exists and none is scheduled: the diff between the affected and fixed versions has not been read, and a closer look may find no hook point ARMR can act on.

Affected software and releases

Oracle advisories

AdvisoryTypeQuarterProducts Oracle names in its risk matrix
Oracle Critical Security Patch Update August 2026 ↗ CSPU 2026-Q3 Oracle Hyperion / Common Security (Apache Struts) (11.2.25.0.000)
Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2024 ↗ CPU 2024-Q1 Oracle Communications / CMP (Apache Struts) (12.6.1.0.0, 15.0.0.0.0)
Oracle Hyperion / Installation and Configuration (Apache Struts) (11.2.14.0.000)
Oracle MySQL / Monitoring: General (Apache Struts) (8.0.36 and prior)

Oracle components and versions

FamilyComponentVersions, as Oracle lists themRead as
Oracle Communications CMP (Apache Struts) 12.6.1.0.0, 15.0.0.0.0 12.6.1.0.0 · 15.0.0.0.0
Oracle Hyperion Common Security (Apache Struts) 11.2.25.0.000 11.2.25.0.0
Oracle Hyperion Installation and Configuration (Apache Struts) 11.2.14.0.000 11.2.14.0.0
Oracle MySQL Monitoring: General (Apache Struts) 8.0.36 and prior

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev
PackageIntroducedFixedLast affected
org.apache.struts:struts2-core 2.0.0 2.5.33 unbounded
org.apache.struts:struts2-core 6.0.0 6.3.0.2 unbounded

Products and versions

2 products, 4 version entries
SourceVendorProductSchemeAffected versions
nvd apache struts generic ≥ 2.0.0 and < 2.5.33 · ≥ 6.0.0 and < 6.3.0.2
osv org.apache.struts struts2-core generic ≥ 2.0.0 and < 2.5.33 · ≥ 6.0.0 and < 6.3.0.2

References

URLTags
https://github.com/apache/struts/commit/162e29fee9136f4bfd9b2376da2cbf590f9ea163 WEB
https://github.com/apache/struts/commit/d8c69691ef1d15e76a5f4fcf33039316da2340b6 WEB
https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-066 WEB
https://github.com/apache/struts PACKAGE
https://lists.apache.org/thread/yh09b3fkf6vz5d6jdgrlvmg60lfwtqhj WEB
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231214-0010 WEB
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/07/1 WEB
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176157/Struts-S2-066-File-Upload-Remote-Code-Execution.html WEB
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/12/07/1 WEB
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231214-0010/ Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry

Timeline

Published2023-12-07By the CVE Program.
VulnCheck KEV: earliest evidence2024-01-31Date of the oldest evidence of exploitation in VulnCheck KEV's record. VulnCheck does not publish the date it listed the CVE.
VulnCheck KEV: latest evidence2025-09-04Date of the newest report, exploit reference or honeypot sighting in VulnCheck KEV's record.
NVD record modified2026-06-17NVD's own last-modified date for this record.