tomcat: unsafe chown of catalina.log in tomcat init script allows privilege escalation
Published Oct 3, 2016
7.8
HIGHCVSS 3.0
EPSS 9.78%
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.
Affected products
No data.
Configuration 1
Running on/with
- 12.04
- 14.04
- 16.04
No data.
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
jbcs-httpd24-0:1-3.jbcs.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc-1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
mod_cluster-0:1.3.5-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
tomcat-native-0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
tomcat-vault-0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
tomcat7-0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6
tomcat8-0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el6
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0455
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
jbcs-httpd24-0:1-3.jbcs.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc-1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
mod_cluster-0:1.3.5-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
tomcat-native-0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
tomcat-vault-0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
tomcat7-0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7
tomcat8-0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el7
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0456
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1
n/a
Fixed · RHSA-2017:0457
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
tomcat5
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
tomcat6
Not affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
tomcat
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 6
jbossweb
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6
jbossweb
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6
jbossweb
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7
tomcat-catalina
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2
tomcat6
Will not fix
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2
tomcat7
Will not fix
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3
tomcat7
Fix deferred
Red Hat JBoss Operations Network 3
jbossweb
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Portal 6
jbossweb
Not affected
Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3
tomcat8
Affected
Red Hat Software Collections
rh-java-common-tomcat
Not affected
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | jbcs-httpd24-0:1-3.jbcs.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc-1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | mod_cluster-0:1.3.5-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | tomcat-native-0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | tomcat-vault-0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | tomcat7-0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 6 | tomcat8-0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el6 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0455 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | hibernate4-eap6-0:4.2.23-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep6.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | jbcs-httpd24-0:1-3.jbcs.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-0:1.0.15-1.redhat_2.1.jbcs.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | jbcs-httpd24-apache-commons-daemon-jsvc-1:1.0.15-17.redhat_2.jbcs.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | mod_cluster-0:1.3.5-2.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | tomcat-native-0:1.2.8-9.redhat_9.ep7.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | tomcat-vault-0:1.0.8-9.Final_redhat_2.1.ep7.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | tomcat7-0:7.0.70-16.ep7.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 for RHEL 7 | tomcat8-0:8.0.36-17.ep7.el7 | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0456 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1 | n/a | Fixed | RHSA-2017:0457 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | tomcat5 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | tomcat6 | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | tomcat | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Grid 6 | jbossweb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6 | jbossweb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 | jbossweb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | tomcat-catalina | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 | tomcat6 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 | tomcat7 | Will not fix | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 3 | tomcat7 | Fix deferred | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Operations Network 3 | jbossweb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Portal 6 | jbossweb | Not affected | n/a |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | tomcat8 | Affected | n/a |
| Red Hat Software Collections | rh-java-common-tomcat | Not affected | n/a |
No package ranges for this CVE.
Remediation
No remediation recorded yet.
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0 score for this CVE.
No CVSS v3.1 score for this CVE.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
1 other source (Red Hat) ▾
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
No CISA SSVC assessment for this CVE yet.
Estimated probability of exploitation in the wild in the next 30 days (FIRST EPSS). As of Oct 1, 2026.
Score over time
2022–2026- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Percentile over time
- EPSS v2
- EPSS v3
- EPSS v4
- EPSS v5
Table of values (46 key points)
Flat stretches are collapsed; showing up to 120 newest points.
| Date | Score | Percentile | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | 9.78% (0.09783) | 95.40th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Jun 15, 2026 | 9.78% (0.09783) | 94.91th | v5 (v2026.06.15) |
| Apr 1, 2026 | 22.09% (0.22085) | 95.75th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 4, 2026 | 18.36% (0.18357) | 95.09th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 1, 2026 | 15.84% (0.15840) | 94.64th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 20, 2026 | 18.36% (0.18357) | 95.07th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 11, 2026 | 21.81% (0.21814) | 95.61th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 4, 2026 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 95.08th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Feb 1, 2026 | 14.64% (0.14637) | 94.33th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jan 4, 2026 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 95.04th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jan 1, 2026 | 14.64% (0.14637) | 94.30th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 95.05th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 27, 2025 | 20.66% (0.20656) | 95.43th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 4, 2025 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 95.01th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 1, 2025 | 14.64% (0.14637) | 94.25th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Nov 4, 2025 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 94.99th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Nov 1, 2025 | 14.64% (0.14637) | 94.23th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 28, 2025 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 94.98th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 27, 2025 | 20.66% (0.20656) | 95.34th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 4, 2025 | 18.61% (0.18611) | 95.02th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Oct 1, 2025 | 14.64% (0.14637) | 94.28th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Sep 4, 2025 | 20.66% (0.20656) | 95.38th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Sep 1, 2025 | 16.35% (0.16354) | 94.64th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Aug 4, 2025 | 20.66% (0.20656) | 95.35th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Aug 1, 2025 | 15.38% (0.15385) | 94.39th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jul 4, 2025 | 18.73% (0.18727) | 94.98th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jul 1, 2025 | 14.73% (0.14734) | 94.20th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jun 10, 2025 | 19.50% (0.19505) | 95.07th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jun 4, 2025 | 20.52% (0.20519) | 95.24th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Jun 1, 2025 | 16.24% (0.16238) | 94.51th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| May 4, 2025 | 20.52% (0.20519) | 95.19th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| May 1, 2025 | 16.24% (0.16238) | 94.47th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Apr 17, 2025 | 20.97% (0.20973) | 95.24th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 30, 2025 | 19.15% (0.19153) | 94.86th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 29, 2025 | 30.08% (0.30080) | 94.73th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 28, 2025 | 19.15% (0.19153) | 94.86th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 27, 2025 | 30.08% (0.30080) | 96.00th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 20, 2025 | 19.15% (0.19153) | 94.89th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 19, 2025 | 30.08% (0.30080) | 96.08th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Mar 17, 2025 | 16.93% (0.16928) | 94.47th | v4 (v2025.03.14) |
| Dec 12, 2024 | 0.04% (0.00043) | 11.64th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 0.04% (0.00044) | 8.40th | v3 (v2023.03.01) |
| Mar 6, 2023 | 2.30% (0.02302) | 81.41th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 7, 2023 | 2.30% (0.02302) | 80.83th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 10.39% (0.10394) | 94.16th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
| Feb 4, 2022 | 10.39% (0.10394) | 87.66th | v2 (v2022.01.01) |
References (19)
- http://legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-DebPkgs-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit-CVE-2016-1240.html
- http://legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-DebPkgs-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit-CVE-2016-1240.txt
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170857/Apache-Tomcat-On-Ubuntu-Log-Init-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0457.html vendor-advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3669 vendor-advisoryThird Party Advisory
- http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3670 vendor-advisoryThird Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/539519/100/0/threaded mailing-list
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/93263 vdb-entry
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1036845 vdb-entryThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
- http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-3081-1 vendor-advisoryThird Party Advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0455 vendor-advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:0456 vendor-advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-1240 Vendor Advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1376712 Issue Tracking
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1240
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201705-09 vendor-advisory
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180731-0002/
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1240
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40450/ exploit
Change history (0)
No recorded changes yet.