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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 21 Jul 2022.
StrutsFramework / library · Apache

CVE-2012-0391

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2012-01-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.3.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit 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
The ExceptionDelegator component in Apache Struts before 2.2.3.1 interprets parameter values as OGNL expressions during certain exception handling for mismatched data types of properties, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via a crafted parameter.

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

OGNL injection vulnerability in Apache Struts' ExceptionDelegator component before version 2.2.3.1. The component incorrectly interprets parameter values as OGNL expressions during exception handling for data type mismatches, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via crafted parameters.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Struts to version 2.2.3.1 or later to patch the OGNL injection vulnerability. Given the critical severity and RCE capability, prioritize immediate patching or implement WAF rules as an interim measure.

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
StrutsFramework / library
Affected:< 2.2.3.1

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify Struts library version
    Locate the struts2-core jar file in your application's lib directory or build configuration (pom.xml, build.gradle, WAR file). Check the version number of this library.
    Affected if The version is anything less than 2.2.3.1 (for example, 2.0.x, 2.1.x, or 2.2.0-2.2.3.0)
  2. Locate Struts configuration files
    Find the struts.xml configuration file in your application's WEB-INF/classes or config directory. Also check for any included configuration files.
    Affected if The application uses Struts configuration files to define actions and exception mappings
  3. Inspect ExceptionDelegator usage
    Search the struts.xml file for references to 'ExceptionDelegator' class or custom exception handling interceptors. Look for exception-mapping configurations that handle type conversion errors.
    Affected if ExceptionDelegator is configured as an exception handler or custom exception interceptor is in use
  4. Verify parameter-driven exception handling is possible
    Review your action mappings to determine if the application accepts user parameters that could trigger type conversion errors (for example, form submissions with type mismatches). Check if parameters are passed to actions that have exception mappings configured.
    Affected if The application accepts user-supplied parameters and has exception mappings that could be triggered by mismatched data types

You are affected if your Apache Struts version is below 2.2.3.1 AND your application uses ExceptionDelegator or similar exception handling that could process user-supplied parameters as OGNL expressions when type conversion fails.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.2.3.1 or later
Fixed in 2.2.3.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Struts to version 2.2.3.1 or later to patch the OGNL injection vulnerability. Given the critical severity and RCE capability, prioritize immediate patching or implement WAF rules as an interim measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Struts 2.2.3.1 or later (recommend latest 2.x LTS or stable release)

  1. Identify all Struts 2 libraries in your project (struts2-core, struts2-convention-plugin, etc.)
  2. Update the Struts version in your dependency management (pom.xml, build.gradle, or similar) to version 2.2.3.1 or later
  3. Run your build to fetch the updated libraries
  4. Rebuild and redeploy your application
  5. Verify that the application functions correctly with the new Struts version
  6. Test that OGNL expression injection is no longer possible by attempting to inject expressions via parameters
Caveat Minor version upgrade within 2.x line should have minimal breaking changes, but review release notes for any behavior changes and test thoroughly before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Struts Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
38.0 hours of engineering $6,600
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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-2012-0391 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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