Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 7 Aug 2026.
TomcatWeb server / proxy · Apache
CVE-2026-34486
HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1Published 2026-04-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists.There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
In the wildHigh EPSSRemotely reachableNo privilegesZero-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
Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data vulnerability in Apache Tomcat due to the fix for CVE-2026-29146 allowing the bypass of the EncryptInterceptor.
This issue affects Apache Tomcat: 11.0.20, 10.1.53, 9.0.116.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.21, 10.1.54 or 9.0.117, which fix the issue.
In the news
Third-party coverage
Trending covered by 5 outlets this week · latest 2w ago
Surfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 · moderate confidence
Apache Tomcat contains a Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data vulnerability where the fix for CVE-2026-29146 allows an attacker to bypass the EncryptInterceptor, potentially exposing sensitive data that should be encrypted during transmission or storage.
MitigationUpgrade Apache Tomcat to version 11.0.21, 10.1.54, or 9.0.117 to address this EncryptInterceptor bypass vulnerability.
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
TomcatWeb server / proxy
Affected:= 9.0.116= 10.1.53= 11.0.20
Jboss Web ServerApplication
Affected:= 7.0.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0= 10.0
Enterprise Linux ElsOperating system
Affected:= 7.0
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
Affected:= 10.0
Enterprise Linux TusOperating system
Affected:= 8.8
Enterprise Linux Update Services For Sap SolutionsOperating system
Affected:= 8.8= 9.2= 9.4= 9.6
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
None
Availability
None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
Determine installed Apache Tomcat version
Check the version.properties file in the Tomcat lib directory or look at the server info printed in the logs on startup. You can also check the RELEASE-NOTES file in the Tomcat home directory.
Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.0.116, 10.1.53, or 11.0.20
Verify if EncryptInterceptor is configured
Search for 'EncryptInterceptor' in server.xml, context.xml, or any application web.xml files within the conf directory.
Affected if EncryptInterceptor is configured and actively protecting endpoints
Confirm EncryptInterceptor is actually protecting endpoints
Review the EncryptInterceptor configuration in server.xml to verify the 'wrapperClassName' or mapping is correctly applied to the intended servlets or endpoints.
Affected if EncryptInterceptor is mapped to servlets handling sensitive data and is expected to encrypt responses
Check for recent configuration changes related to CVE-2026-29146
Review server logs and configuration change history around the time this CVE was addressed to see if EncryptInterceptor was reconfigured or if the mapping was modified.
Affected if The EncryptInterceptor was recently reconfigured following a CVE-2026-29146 fix
A user is affected if they are running exactly version 9.0.116, 10.1.53, or 11.0.20 AND have the EncryptInterceptor configured to protect sensitive endpoints, as the bypass allows unencrypted data transmission.
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
Mitigation availableNo clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation
Upgrade Apache Tomcat to version 11.0.21, 10.1.54, or 9.0.117 to address this EncryptInterceptor bypass vulnerability.
Identify your current Apache Tomcat version (9.0.116, 10.1.53, or 11.0.20) by checking the RELEASE-NOTES file or the server startup logs
Download the corresponding fixed version: Apache Tomcat 9.0.117, 10.1.54, or 11.0.21 from the official Apache Tomcat downloads page (tomcat.apache.org)
Stop the Tomcat server if it is currently running
Backup your existing Tomcat installation directory, including configuration files and deployed applications
Extract the new version to the same location as your current installation, or to a new directory
Restore your configuration files (server.xml, context.xml, etc.) from the backup, or manually apply any custom configurations to the new installation
Deploy your applications from the backup to the new installation
Start the Tomcat server and verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version in the startup logs
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Tomcat
Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,312.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner
Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-34486 — 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.
Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-34486 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2026-34486?
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
The existence of CVE-2026-34486 is the most important analytical signal here, and it should concern you more than the CVSS score or even the fact that it's now on the CISA KEV list.
This CVE is a bypass of CVE-2026-29146, which means the original patch for CVE-2026-29146 did not close the vulnerability class — it closed one specific entry point while leaving others open. This is a well-documented pattern in security engineering: under time pressure, teams produce targeted fixes that resolve the immediate incident without addressing the underlying design weakness in EncryptInterceptor.
What makes this particularly concerning is the false confidence problem. You applied the CVE-2026-29146 patch, tested your applications, and assumed sensitive data was now protected. The bypass means that assumption was wrong — and worse, it was wrong in a way that your testing likely didn't catch, because the bypass exploits the exact scenario the original patch was supposed to close.
The EPSS score of 0.8116 is a red flag: automated exploitation is likely already in distribution or imminent. This means the window between patch release and active compromise may be dangerously short. Treat this as a critical priority regardless of what your vulnerability scanner reports.
Your action items: First, verify whether your deployment uses EncryptInterceptor in any data path — this component sits in middleware with enormous reach across Tomcat installations. Second, do not treat CVE-2026-29146 as resolved; assume the vulnerability class remains open until you have confirmation from Apache that CVE-2026-34486 is fully remediated. Third, audit your encryption implementation end-to-end — check not just that EncryptInterceptor is present, but that it's actually encrypting the data paths you believe are protected.
The deeper lesson is that CVE-to-CVE bypasses represent a structural failure mode, not an anomaly. Each targeted patch creates a map for bypass researchers: here is where the vulnerability existed, here is where the fix was applied, therefore here is where adjacent paths were not examined. Until the vendor addresses the architectural weakness rather than the specific reported coordinate, treat any EncryptInterceptor patch as incomplete by default.
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
