CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2022-23181NVD status: Modified

Apache Tomcat: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2022-23181 is a high-severity time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Apache Tomcat from Apache, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Apache Tomcat versions: Apache Tomcat 10.1 10.1.0-M1 to 10.1.0-M8; Apache Tomcat 10.0 10.0.0-M5 to 10.0.14; Apache Tomcat 9 9.0.35 to 9.0.56, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.69% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 53% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of Apache Tomcat you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on lists.apache.org for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
ApacheApache TomcatApache Tomcat 10.1 10.1.0-M1 to 10.1.0-M8; Apache Tomcat 10.0 10.0.0-M5 to 10.0.14; Apache Tomcat 9 9.0.35 to 9.0.56; Apache Tomcat 8 8.5.55 to 8.5.73Not stated
ApacheTomcat8.5.55 through 8.5.73; 9.0.35 through 9.0.56; 10.0.1 through 10.0.14; 10.0.0; 10.1.0Not stated
OracleAgile Engineering Data Management6.2.1.0Not stated
OracleCommunications Cloud Native Core Policy1.15.0Not stated
OracleFinancial Services Crime And Compliance Management Studio8.0.8.2.0; 8.0.8.3.0Not stated
OracleManaged File Transfer12.2.1.3.0; 12.2.1.4.0Not stated
OracleMySQL Enterprise Monitor8.0.29 and earlierNot stated
DebianDebian Linux10.0; 11.0Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.0HighNVD
CVSS 2.03.7LowNVD

Official description

The fix for bug CVE-2020-9484 introduced a time of check, time of use vulnerability into Apache Tomcat 10.1.0-M1 to 10.1.0-M8, 10.0.0-M5 to 10.0.14, 9.0.35 to 9.0.56 and 8.5.55 to 8.5.73 that allowed a local attacker to perform actions with the privileges of the user that the Tomcat process is using. This issue is only exploitable when Tomcat is configured to persist sessions using the FileStore.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
  • When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
  • Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.

More Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition vulnerabilities (CWE-367)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Patches and release notes

Third-party and government advisories

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Tomcat

All Apache Tomcat vulnerabilities

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