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Commons FileuploadApplication · Apache

CVE-2016-1000031

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-10-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.3.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Apache Commons FileUpload before 1.3.3 DiskFileItem File Manipulation Remote Code Execution

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

Apache Commons FileUpload before 1.3.3 contains a DiskFileItem deserialization flaw that allows remote attackers to manipulate file uploads and write arbitrary files to the filesystem, potentially achieving remote code execution through malicious serialized objects.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Commons FileUpload to version 1.3.3 or later; alternatively, validate all uploaded files, restrict upload directories, and disable dangerous file types.

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
Commons FileuploadApplication
Affected:<= 1.3.2

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:3.0/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 Apache Commons FileUpload version in use
    Search for commons-fileupload JAR files in your application dependencies (pom.xml, build.gradle, lib directories) or classpath, and check the file version in the JAR manifest or filename
    Affected if The version is 1.3.2 or earlier, or the version cannot be determined and the library is present
  2. Confirm DiskFileItem usage in file upload code
    Review application code that handles file uploads and check if DiskFileItem or the standard FileUpload API is used (look for imports like org.apache.commons.fileupload.disk.DiskFileItem or org.apache.commons.fileupload.FileItem)
    Affected if The application performs file uploads using Apache Commons FileUpload and DiskFileItem is in use (this is the default behavior)
  3. Check for deserialization of DiskFileItem objects
    Search codebase for deserialization of DiskFileItem objects: look for ObjectInputStream usage with DiskFileItem, any endpoints accepting serialized DiskFileItem, or code paths that reconstruct DiskFileItem from serialized data
    Affected if The application deserializes DiskFileItem objects from untrusted sources (this is the primary exploitation condition)
  4. Inspect upload directory configuration
    Review the application's file upload directory configuration (uploadDir, temporary directory settings, or where uploaded files are stored)
    Affected if The upload directory is writable and not outside the web root (though this affects impact, not vulnerability existence)

Your environment is affected if Apache Commons FileUpload version 1.3.2 or earlier is in use AND your application deserializes DiskFileItem objects from untrusted input, allowing attackers to write arbitrary files to the filesystem.

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 a release after 1.3.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Commons FileUpload to version 1.3.3 or later; alternatively, validate all uploaded files, restrict upload directories, and disable dangerous file types.

Recommended fix High confidence

Commons FileUpload 1.3.3 or later (preferably latest 1.5.x stable release)

  1. Identify all project dependency configuration files (pom.xml, build.gradle, package.json, lib folder, etc.) that reference Apache Commons FileUpload
  2. Locate the Commons FileUpload dependency declaration and note the current version
  3. Update the Commons FileUpload dependency version to 1.3.3 or later (recommended: latest stable 1.5.x)
  4. Rebuild the project to verify the dependency resolves correctly
  5. Run existing test suites to confirm functionality is unaffected
  6. Redeploy the updated application
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically contain backward-compatible fixes; review release notes for any behavior changes if upgrading across major versions

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

Fix this in Commons Fileupload Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2016-1000031 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