Commons FileuploadApplication · Apache
CVE-2023-24998
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 · uneditedApache Commons FileUpload before 1.5 does not limit the number of request parts to be processed resulting in the possibility of an attacker triggering a DoS with a malicious upload or series of uploads. Note that, like all of the file upload limits, the new configuration option (FileUploadBase#setFileCountMax) is not enabled by default and must be explicitly configured.
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 confidenceApache Commons FileUpload versions before 1.5 lack a limit on the number of request parts that can be processed in a single upload request. An attacker can send requests with an excessive number of file parts to exhaust server memory/CPU and cause denial of service.
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
>= 1.0, < 1.5= 1.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0= 11.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Apache Commons FileUpload librarySearch your application for commons-fileupload JAR files, check Maven/Gradle dependencies, or inspect the lib/classpath for org/apache/commons/fileupload packagesAffected if The library is present in your environment
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Determine the installed versionCheck the JAR file name, manifest, or dependency manager for the exact version number of Apache Commons FileUploadAffected if Version is 1.0 through 1.4.x (any version below 1.5)
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Verify application uses file upload functionalitySearch source code for imports of org.apache.commons.fileupload and usage of DiskFileUpload, ServletFileUpload, or FileItem classesAffected if The application imports or uses Apache Commons FileUpload classes for handling multipart requests
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Check for FileCountMax configurationSearch source code for calls to setFileCountMax on FileUploadBase or ServletFileUpload objectsAffected if setFileCountMax is NOT called or is absent, meaning no limit is imposed on the number of file parts per request
You are affected if Apache Commons FileUpload version 1.0 through 1.4.x is in use AND the application does not configure setFileCountMax to limit request parts.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped1.5
Configure FileUploadBase#setFileCountMax to impose a limit on request parts, or upgrade to Apache Commons FileUpload 1.5 or later which includes this protection option (disabled by default).
Apache Commons FileUpload 1.5
- Upgrade Apache Commons FileUpload to version 1.5 or later
- If immediate upgrade is not possible, configure FileUploadBase.setFileCountMax(long) to limit the maximum number of file parts per request to a reasonable value for your application
- For Debian systems, apply security updates via 'apt-get update && apt-get upgrade' or install the fixed packages from Debian security advisories
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Commons Fileupload
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-24998 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-24998 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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