CVE-2016-3081

CRITICALNVD 8.19.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-10-08), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 8.1 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, nvd
Trending — KEV-added this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 95%CVSS: 8.1Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

Apache Struts 2.3.19 to 2.3.20.2, 2.3.21 to 2.3.24.1, and 2.3.25 to 2.3.28, when Dynamic Method Invocation is enabled, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via method: prefix, related to chained expressions.

CVSS v3
8.1
EG Score
9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
81
EG Risk 81/100CISA SSVC

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA SSVC: Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
Action: A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.
EPSS PROB
95%
EPSS %ILE
99th
KEV
⚠ Exploited

CISA SSVCTrack at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.

A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.

Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table

Published

April 26, 2016

Last Modified

October 9, 2026

Advisory Details (6)

Auto-updated Sep 19, 2026
Patch available.
generic

S2-032 - Apache Struts 2 Wiki - Apache Software Foundation

https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-032.html
generic

CVE-2015-0204 - PSIRT.COM

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91787
generic

CVE-2016-3081 - PSIRT.COM

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/87327
generic

Apache Struts Dynamic Method Invocation Remote Code Execution | Metasploit Module

http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_exec
generic

Rapid7 Vulnerability Database

http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/linux/http/struts_dmi_exec
generic

Security Advisory - Apache Struts2 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Huawei Products

http://www.huawei.com/en/psirt/security-advisories/huawei-sa-20160527-01-struts2-en

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Maven(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFix by version rangeDependents
org.apache.struts:struts2-core2.3.28
  • 2.3.19 up to 2.3.20.3: fixed in 2.3.20.3
  • 2.3.21 up to 2.3.24.3: fixed in 2.3.24.3
  • 2.3.25 up to 2.3.28.1: fixed in 2.3.28.1
—

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 6× in last 7d / 11× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-10-09 23:00 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-10-09 20:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-10-08 18:24 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-10-08 17:50 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-08 17:35 UTCCISA KEV update
  6. 2026-10-07 23:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-30 14:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-09-30 09:12 UTCEG score recompute
  9. 2026-09-24 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-19 01:36 UTCOSV refresh
  11. 2026-09-17 19:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-09-10 09:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-07 15:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-02 14:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-08-31 05:19 UTCOSV refresh
  16. 2026-08-30 19:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-08-27 14:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-08-21 23:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-08-16 14:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-08-14 12:54 UTCOSV refresh
  21. 2026-08-12 13:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-08 16:32 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-07-30 16:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-07-30 01:07 UTCOSV refresh
  25. 2026-07-26 14:50 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 42 more
  1. 2026-07-25 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-07-23 01:22 UTCEG score recompute
  3. 2026-07-22 22:02 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-07-19 14:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-07-18 10:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-12 10:08 UTCOSV refresh
  9. 2026-07-07 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-06 02:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-06 02:20 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-04 06:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-23 15:50 UTCOSV refresh
  15. 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-17 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-14 23:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-11 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-06-10 13:18 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-06-06 20:29 UTCOSV refresh
  28. 2026-06-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-06-05 06:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-05-26 07:16 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-05-22 20:35 UTCEG score recompute
  37. 2026-05-22 13:01 UTCOSV refresh
  38. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(3 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-39756✓ verified
    First seen May 2, 2016

    Apache Struts - Dynamic Method Invocation Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_exec✓ verified
    First seen Apr 27, 2016

    Apache Struts Dynamic Method Invocation Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Nucleihttp/cves/2016/CVE-2016-3081.yaml
    First seen Jan 1, 2016

    Apache S2-032 Struts - Remote Code Execution

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same product + same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2016-3081?
CVE-2016-3081 is a critical vulnerability published on April 26, 2016. Apache Struts 2.3.19 to 2.3.20.2, 2.3.21 to 2.3.24.1, and 2.3.25 to 2.3.28, when Dynamic Method Invocation is enabled, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via method: prefix, related to chained expressions.
When was CVE-2016-3081 disclosed?
CVE-2016-3081 was first published on April 26, 2016, with the most recent update on October 9, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-3081 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2016-3081 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on October 8, 2026, affecting Apache Struts. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is available. Apply it.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-3081?
CVE-2016-3081 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.1 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0 (CRITICAL).
Which products are affected by CVE-2016-3081?
CVE-2016-3081 affects Apache Struts. The affected packages EchelonGraph has on record, with version ranges, are listed in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2016-3081?
A fix for CVE-2016-3081 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory.

Dependency Blast Radius

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