dbcve.org
TomcatWeb server / proxy · Apache

CVE-2003-0045

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2003-02-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Jakarta Tomcat before 3.3.1a on certain Windows systems may allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (thread hang and resource consumption) via a request for a JSP page containing an MS-DOS device name, such as aux.jsp.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Jakarta Tomcat before 3.3.1a on Windows contains a denial-of-service vulnerability where requesting a JSP page with an MS-DOS device name (such as aux.jsp, con.jsp, prn.jsp) causes thread hang and resource consumption. This exploits how Tomcat handles special DOS device name requests on Windows filesystems.

MitigationUpgrade Jakarta Tomcat to version 3.3.1a or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. For legacy systems that cannot be upgraded, consider restricting access to the Tomcat server or deploying a WAF rule to block requests containing DOS device names.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
TomcatWeb server / proxy
Affected:= 3.0= 3.1= 3.1.1= 3.2= 3.2.1= 3.2.3= 3.2.4= 3.3= 3.3.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Windows operating system
    Confirm the host OS is Windows (this vulnerability only affects Windows-based Tomcat installations). Check system properties or run 'systeminfo' on Windows or 'uname -a' and check for Windows indicators.
    Affected if The system is running any version of Windows. This vulnerability only applies to Windows environments.
  2. Identify installed Tomcat version
    Check the Tomcat version by examining the release notes, VERSION file, or the server startup output. Look in the Tomcat home directory for a VERSION file or check the 'server.xml' banner/comments for version information.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.0, 3.1, 3.1.1, 3.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.3, or 3.3.1. Versions outside this range or later than 3.3.1a are not affected.
  3. Confirm Tomcat server is running and accessible
    Check if the Tomcat service is active and the HTTP port (default 8080) is listening. Use 'netstat -an' or 'telnet localhost 8080' to verify the server is accepting connections.
    Affected if The Tomcat server is running and network-accessible. If the server is not running or not network-accessible, the vulnerability cannot be exploited.
  4. Review for hung threads or high resource usage
    Monitor Tomcat process for stuck threads or high CPU/memory consumption. Use 'jstack' or task manager to examine thread states. Check for threads stuck in request processing.
    Affected if Threads are hung or the server is experiencing abnormally high resource consumption, which could indicate exploitation attempts.
  5. Examine access logs for suspicious requests
    Review Tomcat access logs (typically in the logs/ directory) for requests containing DOS device names such as aux, con, prn, com1, lpt1, or nul with .jsp extension.
    Affected if Access logs contain requests for JSP pages with MS-DOS device names (e.g., aux.jsp, con.jsp, prn.jsp).

The environment is affected if running Tomcat versions 3.0 through 3.3.1 on Windows with the server network-accessible, particularly if DOS device name requests appear in logs or unusual thread hang behavior is observed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Jakarta Tomcat to version 3.3.1a or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. For legacy systems that cannot be upgraded, consider restricting access to the Tomcat server or deploying a WAF rule to block requests containing DOS device names.

Fix this in Tomcat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2003-0045 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data