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StrutsFramework / library · Apache

CVE-2016-2162

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Apache Struts 2.x before 2.3.25 does not sanitize text in the Locale object constructed by I18NInterceptor, which might allow remote attackers to conduct cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks via unspecified vectors involving language display.

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 Struts 2.x before 2.3.25 fails to sanitize text within the Locale object constructed by the I18NInterceptor component. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts through language/locale display parameters, resulting in reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) when the locale is rendered in the user interface.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Struts to version 2.3.25 or later to obtain the patch for I18NInterceptor. As a compensating control, implement output encoding for all locale display values rendered in the application.

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= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.0.8= 2.0.9= 2.0.10= 2.0.11

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 the installed Apache Struts version
    Check the Struts JAR file name in the WEB-INF/lib directory, or examine the pom.xml dependency version, or look at the MANIFEST.MF file inside the struts2-core JAR
    Affected if The version is 2.0.0 through 2.3.24 (any version before 2.3.25)
  2. Locate the Struts configuration file
    Find struts.xml in the application WEB-INF/classes directory or within the deployed application configuration
    Affected if The configuration file exists and Struts is in use
  3. Verify I18NInterceptor is configured
    Search the struts.xml for an <interceptor> or <interceptor-ref> element that references I18NInterceptor, or check if the defaultStack includes I18NInterceptor
    Affected if I18NInterceptor is explicitly referenced or is part of the default interceptor stack
  4. Confirm the application accepts locale parameters
    Review application URLs or forms for parameters named 'locale' or 'language' that are processed by Struts, or test by appending ?locale=en_US to any Struts action URL
    Affected if The application accepts and processes locale/language request parameters
  5. Check if locale values are rendered in the UI without encoding
    Inspect JSP files, FreeMarker templates, or other view files that output the locale or language parameter using <s:property> or similar tags without explicit encode="false" or without using escapeHtml/transform nodes
    Affected if Locale display values are rendered directly to HTML without output encoding

The environment is affected if the installed Struts version is before 2.3.25 AND the I18NInterceptor is active AND the application renders locale or language parameters in the user interface without sanitization.

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 Apache Struts to version 2.3.25 or later to obtain the patch for I18NInterceptor. As a compensating control, implement output encoding for all locale display values rendered in the application.

Fix this in Struts Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2016-2162 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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