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TomeeApplication · Apache

CVE-2020-11969

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.0.1 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
If Apache TomEE is configured to use the embedded ActiveMQ broker, and the broker URI includes the useJMX=true parameter, a JMX port is opened on TCP port 1099, which does not include authentication. This affects Apache TomEE 8.0.0-M1 - 8.0.1, Apache TomEE 7.1.0 - 7.1.2, Apache TomEE 7.0.0-M1 - 7.0.7, Apache TomEE 1.0.0 - 1.7.5.

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

When Apache TomEE is configured with an embedded ActiveMQ broker and the broker URI includes useJMX=true, the JMX service automatically binds to TCP port 1099 without requiring authentication, enabling unauthenticated remote attackers to potentially execute code or access sensitive MBean information.

MitigationRemove the useJMX=true parameter from the ActiveMQ broker URI configuration, or if JMX is required, configure proper JMX authentication and network access controls.

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
TomeeApplication
Affected:>= 1.0.0, <= 1.7.5>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.7>= 7.1.0, <= 7.1.2>= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.1= 7.0.0= 8.0.0

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 Apache TomEE installation
    Locate the TomEE installation directory. Check for conf/server.xml, conf/tomee.xml, or the bin/catalina.sh/catalina.bat scripts. Confirm the version from the directory name or version file.
    Affected if The system runs Apache TomEE within the affected version ranges (1.0.0-1.7.5, 7.0.0-7.0.7, 7.1.0-7.1.2, 8.0.0-8.0.1) or uses versions 7.0.0 or 8.0.0 specifically.
  2. Locate ActiveMQ broker configuration
    Search the TomEE conf directory (conf/) for files containing ActiveMQ broker configuration, such as tomee.xml, openejb-jar.xml, or resources.xml. Look for <broker> elements or ActiveMQ resource adapter configurations.
    Affected if An embedded ActiveMQ broker is configured within the TomEE instance.
  3. Inspect broker URI for useJMX parameter
    Within the ActiveMQ broker configuration files, locate the broker URI or connection URL. Search for the string 'useJMX' and verify if it is set to 'true'.
    Affected if The broker URI contains 'useJMX=true' without additional JMX security configuration.
  4. Verify JMX port exposure
    Check if TCP port 1099 is listening on the system using 'netstat -an | grep 1099' or 'ss -tlnp | grep 1099'. Also inspect any firewall rules that may allow external access to this port.
    Affected if Port 1099 is bound and accessible from untrusted networks, indicating the JMX service is exposed without authentication.

A user is affected if they run a vulnerable Apache TomEE version with an embedded ActiveMQ broker configured with useJMX=true in the broker URI, resulting in unauthenticated JMX access on port 1099.

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 8.0.1
Interim mitigation

Remove the useJMX=true parameter from the ActiveMQ broker URI configuration, or if JMX is required, configure proper JMX authentication and network access controls.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Review your ActiveMQ broker configuration (typically in conf/system.properties or conf/activemq.xml) to check for useJMX=true in the broker URI
  2. 2. Remove the useJMX=true parameter from the embedded ActiveMQ broker URI configuration, or set it to false
  3. 3. If JMX monitoring is required, implement external JMX authentication and consider using JMX over SSL with appropriate network restrictions
  4. 4. Ensure port 1099 is not exposed to untrusted networks by using firewall rules or binding to localhost only
  5. 5. After making configuration changes, restart Apache TomEE services
  6. 6. Verify that port 1099 is no longer listening or is properly authenticated

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

Fix this in Tomee Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,210
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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-2020-11969 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