Exposure of Sensitive Information in Apache Tomcat
Apache Tomcat 4.1.0 through 4.1.39, 5.5.0 through 5.5.27, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.18, when FORM authentication is used, allows remote attackers to enumerate valid usernames via requests to /j_security_check with malformed URL encoding of passwords, related to improper error checking in the (1) MemoryRealm, (2) DataSourceRealm, and (3) JDBCRealm authentication realms, as demonstrated by a % (percent) value for the j_password parameter.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.apache.tomcat:tomcat | >= 4.1.0, < 4.1.40, >= 5.0.0, < 5.5.28, >= 6.0.0, < 6.0.19 | 4.1.40, 5.5.28, 6.0.19 |
References
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-0580
- https://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=127420533226623&w=2
- https://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=129070310906557&w=2
- https://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=133469267822771&w=2
- https://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=136485229118404&w=2
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A18915
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6628
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A9101
- https://svn.apache.org/viewvc?rev=747840&view=rev
- https://svn.apache.org/viewvc?rev=781379&view=rev
- https://svn.apache.org/viewvc?rev=781382&view=rev
- https://tomcat.apache.org/security-4.html
- https://tomcat.apache.org/security-5.html
- https://tomcat.apache.org/security-6.html
- https://www.debian.org/security/2011/dsa-2207
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-November/msg01156.html
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-November/msg01216.html
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2009-November/msg01246.html
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/50930
- https://github.com/apache/tomcat
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/06cfb634bc7bf37af7d8f760f118018746ad8efbd519c4b789ac9c2e%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/06cfb634bc7bf37af7d8f760f118018746ad8efbd519c4b789ac9c2e@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/29dc6c2b625789e70a9c4756b5a327e6547273ff8bde7e0327af48c5%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/29dc6c2b625789e70a9c4756b5a327e6547273ff8bde7e0327af48c5@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/8dcaf7c3894d66cb717646ea1504ea6e300021c85bb4e677dc16b1aa%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/8dcaf7c3894d66cb717646ea1504ea6e300021c85bb4e677dc16b1aa@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/c62b0e3a7bf23342352a5810c640a94b6db69957c5c19db507004d74%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/c62b0e3a7bf23342352a5810c640a94b6db69957c5c19db507004d74@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3aacc40356defc3f248aa504b1e48e819dd0471a0a83349080c6bcbf%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3aacc40356defc3f248aa504b1e48e819dd0471a0a83349080c6bcbf@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r584a714f141eff7b1c358d4679288177bd4ca4558e9999d15867d4b5%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r584a714f141eff7b1c358d4679288177bd4ca4558e9999d15867d4b5@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb71997f506c6cc8b530dd845c084995a9878098846c7b4eacfae8db3%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb71997f506c6cc8b530dd845c084995a9878098846c7b4eacfae8db3@%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
- https://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-07/msg00002.html
- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-200- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat- Disclosed
- 02.05.2022
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:20
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-w227-xcfx-3pj8 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.apache.tomcat:tomcat
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 162
- First → latest
- 12.2018 08.2026
- Without a fix
- 20
- Exploited in attacks
- 1
Severity breakdown
- Critical 8
- High 40
- Medium 102
- Low 12
Disclosures per year
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 1
- 2020: 2
- 2021: 5
- 2022: 125
- 2023: 3
- 2024: 2
- 2025: 4
- 2026: 19
-
Exposure of Sensitive Information in Apache Tomcat this entry
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