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TapestryApplication · Apache

CVE-2019-10071

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.4.3 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
The code which checks HMAC in form submissions used String.equals() for comparisons, which results in a timing side channel for the comparison of the HMAC signatures. This could lead to remote code execution if an attacker is able to determine the correct signature for their payload. The comparison should be done with a constant time algorithm instead.

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

The vulnerability exists in the HMAC signature verification for form submissions where String.equals() was used instead of a constant-time comparison algorithm. This timing side-channel allows attackers to potentially brute-force the HMAC signature by measuring response times, which could lead to remote code execution if the correct signature is determined.

MitigationReplace String.equals() with a constant-time comparison method (such as Java's MessageDigest.isEqual()) for HMAC signature verification across all form submission handlers.

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
TapestryApplication
Affected:>= 5.4.0, <= 5.4.3

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
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. Locate Apache Tapestry libraries in the deployment
    Search for tapestry-core*.jar files in the application lib or WEB-INF/lib directory, and note the full filename which typically includes the version number
    Affected if Tapestry libraries with version 5.4.0 through 5.4.3 are present
  2. Verify the exact Tapestry version
    Open the tapestry-core jar META-INF/MANIFEST.MF file and read the Implementation-Version attribute, or check build configuration files (pom.xml, build.gradle) for the tapestry.version property
    Affected if The version string matches 5.4.0, 5.4.1, 5.4.2, or 5.4.3
  3. Confirm form component submission is in use
    Search Java source code or compiled classes for Form and FormSubmittingComponent usage, and check if the application uses Tapestry form components (such as Form, Submit, LinkSubmit) in any pages or components
    Affected if The application uses Tapestry form components for user input submission
  4. Identify HMAC configuration for form security
    Check the application module configuration (usually in src/main/java under a package with AppModule.java or in web.xml) for org.apache.tapestry5.SymbolConstants#FORM_HMAC_SECRET_KEY or similar HMAC-related symbols being defined
    Affected if HMAC secret key configuration for form submissions is present and enabled

The environment is affected if Apache Tapestry version 5.4.0 through 5.4.3 is deployed AND the application uses Tapestry form components with HMAC signature verification enabled for form submission security.

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 5.4.3
Interim mitigation

Replace String.equals() with a constant-time comparison method (such as Java's MessageDigest.isEqual()) for HMAC signature verification across all form submission handlers.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apache Tapestry 5.4.4 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Apache Tapestry version in use (check pom.xml or build.gradle dependencies)
  2. 2. Stop the application and back up the current codebase and configuration
  3. 3. Update the Tapestry dependency version in your build configuration to 5.4.4 or later
  4. 4. Rebuild the application with the new dependency version
  5. 5. Test the form submission functionality to verify normal operation
  6. 6. Deploy the updated application to production

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

Fix this in Tapestry Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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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-2019-10071 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