CVE-2017-5638

CRITICALNVD 9.810.0
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

“▲” beside the score: it is higher than NVD's CVSS score.

Score elevated to 10.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, EPSS, GitHub Security Advisory, NVD CVSS v3
Trending — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild

Also known asEUVD-2018-0625 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 (GitHub Security Advisories)Source: ENISA EUVD

10.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low mission impact
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: >99.9%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · other public PoCExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
10.0CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
100
EG Risk 100/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.

How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)
Severity100% × 45%
Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 10.0 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.
Exploitation100% × 40%
Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.
Automatability100% × 15%
CISA's SSVC Automatable value: yes (Vulnrichment).
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Attend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.
Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it sooner than your standard update timelines at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high.
EPSS PROB
>99.9%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
⚠ Exploited

What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)

The EG score (10.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 10.0 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.

EG Severity
10.0 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
EG Likelihood
>99.9% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-01). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
Confirmed exploitation
CISA KEV and EG-KEV Tier 1 (exploited in the wild)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
EG Priority
SSVC Act at medium mission impactAttend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.CISA BOD 26-04: 3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 3 days & forensic triage if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.

SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Attend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.

A fix is available. Apply it sooner than your standard update timelines at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high.

Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table

BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 3 days & forensic triage if it is not.

The score's inputs: In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it

CISA required action“Apply updates per vendor instructions.”

Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5638

Published

March 11, 2017

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Oct 27, 2026
⚠️ Actively exploited (CISA KEV, CISA Vulnrichment). Patch available.
Web page

S2-046 - Apache Struts 2 Wiki - Apache Software Foundation

https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-046
Web page

S2-045 - Apache Struts 2 Wiki - Apache Software Foundation

https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-045
Web page

Critical vulnerability under “massive” attack imperils high-impact sites [Updated] - Ars Technica

https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/critical-vulnerability-under-massive-attack-imperils-high-impact-sites/
Web page

PSIRT.COM — Product Security Incident Response Team

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96729
Web page

Apache Struts Vulnerability Exposes Sites to Attack | eWeek

http://www.eweek.com/security/apache-struts-vulnerability-under-attack.html
Web page

Content-Type: Malicious - New Apache Struts2 0-day Under Attack

http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/03/apache-0-day-exploited.html

Patch Availability(2)

Vendor / EcosystemFix (by version range) / PatchReleasedSource
mavenorg.apache.struts:struts2-core @ 2.3.32 (fixes >= 2.3.0, <= 2.3.31)—ghsa
mavenorg.apache.struts:struts2-core @ 2.5.10.1 (fixes >= 2.5.0, <= 2.5.10)—ghsa

Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Maven(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
org.apache.struts:struts2-core2.5 ... 2.5.8 (6 versions)
  • 2.3.0 up to 2.3.32: fixed in 2.3.32
  • 2.5.0 up to 2.5.10.1: fixed in 2.5.10.1
—

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 11× in last 7d / 29× in last 30d)

Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 99 of 122 refreshes on record for this CVE.

A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. 1 repeat row among the latest 100 is merged into the row it repeats. The 23 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.

  1. 2026-11-01 20:23 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-11-01 20:23 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
  3. 2026-11-01 08:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-j77q-2qqg-6989 · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
  4. 2026-11-01 08:44 UTCEG score recompute▲ 0.20
  5. 2026-10-31 20:52 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-10-30 21:21 UTCEG score recompute
  7. 2026-10-29 21:50 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-10-28 22:19 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-10-27 22:49 UTCEG score recompute
  10. 2026-10-27 16:26 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS >99.9% · 99th percentile
  11. 2026-10-26 23:16 UTCEG score recompute
  12. 2026-10-25 19:32 UTCEG score recompute
  13. 2026-10-25 00:13 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-10-24 00:43 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-10-23 01:11 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-10-22 01:39 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-10-21 02:07 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-10-20 02:35 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-10-19 03:02 UTCEG score recompute
  20. 2026-10-18 03:29 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-10-17 03:56 UTCEG score recompute
  22. 2026-10-16 04:24 UTCEG score recompute
  23. 2026-10-15 04:52 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-10-14 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS >99.9% · 99th percentile
  25. 2026-10-14 05:19 UTCEG score recompute
Show 74 more
  1. 2026-10-12 20:27 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-11 21:59 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-10-11 17:51 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-10-11 13:41 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-09-28 23:46 UTCEG score recompute
  6. 2026-09-27 21:51 UTCCISA KEV update
  7. 2026-09-25 19:35 UTCCISA KEV update
  8. 2026-09-25 14:55 UTCCISA KEV update
  9. 2026-09-24 19:31 UTCCISA KEV update
  10. 2026-09-22 19:36 UTCCISA KEV update
  11. 2026-09-21 19:09 UTCCISA KEV update
  12. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCCISA KEV update
  13. 2026-09-18 14:15 UTCCISA KEV update
  14. 2026-09-16 14:10 UTCCISA KEV update
  15. 2026-09-14 19:24 UTCCISA KEV update
  16. 2026-09-11 18:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  17. 2026-09-10 19:28 UTCCISA KEV update
  18. 2026-09-09 19:08 UTCCISA KEV update
  19. 2026-09-08 18:54 UTCCISA KEV update
  20. 2026-09-04 17:38 UTCCISA KEV update
  21. 2026-09-02 17:33 UTCCISA KEV update
  22. 2026-08-31 14:19 UTCCISA KEV update
  23. 2026-08-27 17:22 UTCCISA KEV update
  24. 2026-08-26 17:41 UTCCISA KEV update
  25. 2026-08-24 18:52 UTCCISA KEV update
  26. 2026-08-21 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  27. 2026-08-20 17:06 UTCCISA KEV update
  28. 2026-08-19 17:33 UTCCISA KEV update
  29. 2026-08-18 16:58 UTCCISA KEV update
  30. 2026-08-17 13:56 UTCCISA KEV update
  31. 2026-08-11 19:32 UTCCISA KEV update
  32. 2026-08-07 17:09 UTCCISA KEV update
  33. 2026-08-05 17:25 UTCCISA KEV update
  34. 2026-08-04 17:02 UTCCISA KEV update
  35. 2026-08-03 19:22 UTCCISA KEV update
  36. 2026-07-30 09:56 UTCEG score recompute
  37. 2026-07-29 19:27 UTCCISA KEV update
  38. 2026-07-27 19:24 UTCCISA KEV update
  39. 2026-07-27 17:17 UTCCISA KEV update
  40. 2026-07-26 10:49 UTCEG score recompute
  41. 2026-07-23 01:29 UTCEG score recompute
  42. 2026-07-22 21:49 UTCEG score recompute
  43. 2026-07-22 19:40 UTCCISA KEV update
  44. 2026-07-21 14:37 UTCCISA KEV update
  45. 2026-07-17 10:46 UTCEG score recompute
  46. 2026-07-16 17:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  47. 2026-07-15 16:49 UTCCISA KEV update
  48. 2026-07-15 15:04 UTCCISA KEV update
  49. 2026-07-14 18:05 UTCCISA KEV update
  50. 2026-07-13 17:07 UTCCISA KEV update
  51. 2026-07-10 17:52 UTCCISA KEV update
  52. 2026-07-07 19:01 UTCCISA KEV update
  53. 2026-07-07 17:16 UTCCISA KEV update
  54. 2026-07-01 19:16 UTCCISA KEV update
  55. 2026-06-29 19:12 UTCCISA KEV update
  56. 2026-06-25 19:15 UTCCISA KEV update
  57. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS >99.9% · 99th percentile
  58. 2026-06-23 17:44 UTCCISA KEV update
  59. 2026-06-18 16:13 UTCCISA KEV update
  60. 2026-06-16 19:33 UTCCISA KEV update
  61. 2026-06-15 19:33 UTCCISA KEV update
  62. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS >99.9% · 99th percentile
  63. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 94% · 99th percentile
  64. 2026-06-12 17:35 UTCCISA KEV update
  65. 2026-06-11 19:10 UTCCISA KEV update
  66. 2026-06-09 18:42 UTCCISA KEV update
  67. 2026-06-09 17:12 UTCCISA KEV update
  68. 2026-06-08 19:16 UTCCISA KEV update
  69. 2026-06-08 17:26 UTCCISA KEV update
  70. 2026-06-05 22:43 UTCCISA KEV update
  71. 2026-06-03 19:09 UTCCISA KEV update
  72. 2026-06-02 18:32 UTCCISA KEV update
  73. 2026-06-01 20:42 UTCCISA KEV update
  74. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 94% · 99th percentile

Publicly available exploits

(14 references, 10 shown)

Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 2 Exploit-DB entries, 10 GitHub PoCs), as is 1 Nuclei detection template. A detection template checks whether a system is affected; it is not necessarily exploit code. Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-41614✓ verified
    Published Mar 15, 2017

    Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - 'Jakarta' Multipart Parser OGNL Injection (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/multi/http/struts2_content_type_ognl✓ verified
    Published Mar 14, 2017

    OGNL injection via Content-Type header — the exploit chain used in the Equifax breach.

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-41570✓ verified
    Published Mar 9, 2017

    Standalone Python exploit, weaponised within 48h of patch release.

    Open source ↗
  • Nucleihttp/cves/2017/CVE-2017-5638.yaml
    Published Aug 19, 2020

    Apache Struts 2 - Remote Command Execution

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCwin3zz/CVE-2017-5638
    Published May 13, 2018

    Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - Remote Code Execution - Shell Script

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCjas502n/st2-046-poc
    Published Mar 21, 2017

    st2-046-poc CVE-2017-5638

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCjrrdev/cve-2017-5638
    Published Mar 15, 2017

    cve-2017-5638 Vulnerable site sample

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCmazen160/struts-pwn
    Published Mar 12, 2017

    An exploit for Apache Struts CVE-2017-5638

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCret2jazzy/Struts-Apache-ExploitPack
    Published Mar 12, 2017

    These are just some script which you can use to detect and exploit the Apache Struts Vulnerability (CVE-2017-5638)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCimmunio/apache-struts2-CVE-2017-5638
    Published Mar 10, 2017

    Demo Application and Exploit

    Open source ↗

Past incidents using this CVE

(1)

This CVE was central to one or more publicly-documented breaches. Each card links to authoritative reporting at the time of the incident.

  • Equifax breach (Apache Struts)Sep 2017147M+ affected

    Apache Struts OGNL injection vulnerability — Equifax failed to patch for 2 months, leading to one of the largest PII breaches in history. 147M US consumers exposed.

    Source: CSO Online

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 is a critical-severity vulnerability; its CVE record was published on March 11, 2017. The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or…
When was CVE-2017-5638 made public?
CVE-2017-5638 was made public on March 6, 2017: that is the date its CVE record's CNA, Apache Software Foundation, gives for when the vulnerability was made public. The CVE record itself was published on March 11, 2017. EchelonGraph's copy of the record carries a last-modified date of June 17, 2026; the record at its source may have been updated since.
Is CVE-2017-5638 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2017-5638 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3, 2021, affecting Apache Struts. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is available. Apply it.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 10.0 (CRITICAL).
Which products are affected by CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 affects Apache Struts. The affected packages EchelonGraph has on record, with version ranges, are listed in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2017-5638?
A fix for CVE-2017-5638 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

Dependency Blast Radius

See which npm, PyPI, Go, and Maven packages are affected by CVE-2017-5638

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