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StrutsFramework / library · Apache

CVE-2015-5169

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.3.16.3 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Apache Struts before 2.3.20.

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 · moderate confidence

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Apache Struts versions prior to 2.3.20 allows attackers to inject malicious scripts through web application inputs that are not properly sanitized by the Struts framework.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Struts to version 2.3.20 or later. Alternatively, implement input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data.

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:>= 2.0.0, <= 2.3.16.3

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 Apache Struts installation
    Locate Struts JAR files in the application's lib directory (such as WEB-INF/lib for Java web apps) or check build configuration files (pom.xml, build.gradle) for Struts dependencies.
    Affected if Apache Struts JAR files or dependencies are present in the application
  2. Determine installed Struts version
    Check the version from the Struts core JAR file (typically struts2-core-x.x.x.jar) by inspecting its MANIFEST.MF file, or by searching for version strings in the JAR filename itself.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is within the range 2.0.0 to 2.3.16.3
  3. Compare version to affected range
    Review the identified version number against the affected range: versions 2.0.0 through 2.3.16.3 are vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to 2.0.0 and less than or equal to 2.3.16.3
  4. Verify user input handling exists
    Examine the application for web forms, search fields, or any feature that accepts user-supplied data and passes it through Struts tags or OGNL expression evaluation.
    Affected if The application processes user input through Struts framework components

The environment is affected if Apache Struts is in use with a version between 2.0.0 and 2.3.16.3 inclusive and the application handles user input through Struts components.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.3.16.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Struts to version 2.3.20 or later. Alternatively, implement input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data.

Fix this in Struts Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

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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-2015-5169 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