Description
Apache Tomcat 7.x through 7.0.70 and 8.x through 8.5.4, when the CGI Servlet is enabled, follows RFC 3875 section 4.1.18 and therefore does not protect applications from the presence of untrusted client data in the HTTP_PROXY environment variable, which might allow remote attackers to redirect an application's outbound HTTP traffic to an arbitrary proxy server via a crafted Proxy header in an HTTP request, aka an "httpoxy" issue. NOTE: the vendor states "A mitigation is planned for future releases of Tomcat, tracked as CVE-2016-5388"; in other words, this is not a CVE ID for a vulnerability.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 8 | tomcat8 | 8.0.14-1+deb8u15 | DLA-1883-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | tomcat8 | 8.0.32-1ubuntu1.3 | USN-3177-1 |
| Ubuntu 14.04 LTS | tomcat7 | 7.0.52-1ubuntu0.8 | USN-3177-1 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | tomcat7 | 7.0.68-1ubuntu0.4+esm1 | USN-4791-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | tomcat6 | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 7 | tomcat +9 | 7.0.54-8.el7_2 | RHSA-2016:2046 |
| RHEL 6 | tomcat6 +8 | 6.0.24-98.el6_8 | RHSA-2016:2045 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | httpd24 +5 | 2.4.6-62.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2016:1636, RHSA-2016:1635 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | mod_ssl24 +1 | 1:2.4.6-62.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2016:1636, RHSA-2016:1635 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | tomcat7 +9 | 7.0.59-51_patch_01.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2016:1636, RHSA-2016:1635 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | tomcat8 +9 | 8.0.18-62_patch_01.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2016:1636, RHSA-2016:1635 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 12 SP1 | tomcat | 8.0.32-8.7 | SUSE-SU-2016:2188-1 |
| SLES 12 | tomcat | 7.0.78-7.13.4 | SUSE-SU-2017:1660-1 |
| SLES 11 SP4 | tomcat6 | 6.0.45-0.53.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:1632-1, SUSE-SU-2016:2229-1 |
| SLES 11 SP3 | tomcat6 | 6.0.53-0.56.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:1632-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 12 SP1 | tomcat | 8.0.32-8.7 | SUSE-SU-2016:2188-1 |
| SLES for SAP 12 | tomcat | 7.0.78-7.13.4 | SUSE-SU-2017:1660-1 |
| SLES for SAP 11 SP4 | tomcat6 | 6.0.45-0.53.2 | SUSE-SU-2017:1632-1, SUSE-SU-2016:2229-1 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3 | tomcat6 | 6.0.53-0.56.1 | SUSE-SU-2017:1632-1 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 7 | tomcat +9 | 7.0.54-8.el7_2 | ELSA-2016-2046 |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina | >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.72 | 7.0.72 | GHSA-v646-rx6w-r3qq |
| Maven | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina | >= 8.0.0, < 8.5.5 | 8.5.5 | GHSA-v646-rx6w-r3qq |
Advisories 13
- RHSA-2016:2045 Red Hat Security Advisory: tomcat6 security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 15, 2026
- RHSA-2016:1635 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.0.3 Service Pack 1 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Sep 21, 2026
- RHSA-2016:1636 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.0.3 Service Pack 1 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Sep 21, 2026
- RHSA-2016:2046 Red Hat Security Advisory: tomcat security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- USN-4791-1 tomcat7 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 25, 2026
- USN-3177-1 tomcat6, tomcat7, tomcat8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
- DLA-1883-1 tomcat8 - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:1632-1 Security update for tomcat6 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:2188-1 Security update for tomcat SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2017:1660-1 Security update for tomcat SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2016:2229-1 Security update for tomcat6 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- WID-SEC-2025-2522 Mehrere Webserver: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Umgehen von Sicherheitsvorkehrungen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 10, 2025
- ELSA-2016-2046 Important: tomcat security update (Oracle Linux 7) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Oct 10, 2016
References
- RHSA-2016:1635 vendor-advisory
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05320149
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05324759
- VU#797896 third-party-advisory
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinoct2016-3090545.html
- RHSA-2016:2045 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2016:2046 vendor-advisory
- https://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/changelog.html
- 91818 vdb-entry
- openSUSE-SU-2016:2252 vendor-advisory
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/kb/docDisplay?docId=emr_na-c05390722
- https://h20566.www2.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbhf03770en_us
- RHSA-2016:1624 vendor-advisory
- https://www.apache.org/security/asf-httpoxy-response.txt
- https://httpoxy.org/
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2017-3236622.html
- 1036331 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2016:1636 vendor-advisory
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190813 [SECURITY] [DLA 1883-1] tomcat8 security update mailing-list
- [activemq-issues] 20190820 [jira] [Created] (AMQ-7279) Security Vulnerabilities in Libraries - jackson-databind-2.9.8.jar, tomcat-servlet-api-8.0.53.jar, tomcat-websocket-api-8.0.53.jar, zookeeper-3.4.6.jar, guava-18.0.jar, jetty-all-9.2.26.v20180806 mailing-list
- [activemq-issues] 20190826 [jira] [Created] (AMQ-7288) Security Vulnerabilities in ActiveMQ dependent libraries. mailing-list
- [activemq-issues] 20190925 [jira] [Created] (AMQ-7310) Security Vulnerabilities in Tomcat-websocket-api.jar mailing-list
- [tomcat-users] 20200813 CVE reporting discrepencies mailing-list
- [tomcat-users] 20200813 Re: CVE reporting discrepencies mailing-list
- [tomcat-users] 20200814 Re: CVE reporting discrepencies mailing-list