CVE-2017-5638

CRITICALNVD 9.89.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score elevated to 9.8 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 9.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, nvd
Exploited in the wild
9.8
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS: 100%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or Content-Length HTTP header, as exploited in the wild in March 2017 with a Content-Type header containing a #cmd= string.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(medium)
EPSS
100.0%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

March 11, 2017

Last Modified

April 21, 2026

Advisory Details (6)

Auto-updated Apr 29, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. No patch confirmed yet.
generic

S2-046 - Apache Struts 2 Wiki - Apache Software Foundation

https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-046
generic

S2-045 - Apache Struts 2 Wiki - Apache Software Foundation

https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-045
generic

Critical vulnerability under “massive” attack imperils high-impact sites [Updated] - Ars Technica

https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/03/critical-vulnerability-under-massive-attack-imperils-high-impact-sites/
generic

Apache Struts Vulnerability Exposes Sites to Attack

http://www.eweek.com/security/apache-struts-vulnerability-under-attack.html
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Apache Struts 2 Vulnerability Leads to RCE | Trend Micro (US)

http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/cve-2017-5638-apache-struts-vulnerability-remote-code-execution/
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Content-Type: Malicious - New Apache Struts2 0-day Under Attack

http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/03/apache-0-day-exploited.html

Affected Packages

(1 across 1 ecosystem)
Maven(1)
PackageVulnerable rangeFixed inDependents
org.apache.struts:struts2-core2.5 ... 2.5.8 (6 versions)2.5.10.1—

Weakness Classification(1)

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

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 43× in last 7d / 187× 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.

Showing the most recent 100 of 294 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-07-11 18:29 UTCEG score recompute
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  7. 2026-07-10 17:52 UTCCISA KEV update
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  1. 2026-07-07 19:01 UTCCISA KEV update
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  37. 2026-07-01 19:16 UTCCISA KEV update
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  50. 2026-06-29 19:12 UTCCISA KEV update
  51. 2026-06-29 17:10 UTCEG score recompute
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  73. 2026-06-25 20:01 UTCEG score recompute
  74. 2026-06-25 19:15 UTCCISA KEV update
  75. 2026-06-25 15:52 UTCEG score recompute

Publicly available exploits

(10 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (7 GitHub PoCs) (2 Exploit-DB entries). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCwin3zz/CVE-2017-5638
    First seen May 13, 2018

    Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - Remote Code Execution - Shell Script

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCjas502n/st2-046-poc
    First seen Mar 21, 2017

    st2-046-poc CVE-2017-5638

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-41614✓ verified
    First seen Mar 15, 2017

    Apache Struts 2.3.5 < 2.3.31 / 2.5 < 2.5.10 - 'Jakarta' Multipart Parser OGNL Injection (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCjrrdev/cve-2017-5638
    First seen Mar 15, 2017

    cve-2017-5638 Vulnerable site sample

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCret2jazzy/Struts-Apache-ExploitPack
    First seen Mar 12, 2017

    These are just some script which you can use to detect and exploit the Apache Struts Vulnerability (CVE-2017-5638)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCmazen160/struts-pwn
    First seen Mar 12, 2017

    An exploit for Apache Struts CVE-2017-5638

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCimmunio/apache-struts2-CVE-2017-5638
    First seen Mar 10, 2017

    Demo Application and Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCxsscx/cve-2017-5638
    First seen Mar 10, 2017

    Example PoC Code for CVE-2017-5638 | Apache Struts Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/multi/http/struts2_content_type_ognl✓ verified
    First seen Mar 10, 2017

    OGNL injection via Content-Type header — the exploit chain used in the Equifax breach.

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-41570✓ verified
    First seen Mar 9, 2017

    Standalone Python exploit, weaponised within 48h of patch release.

    Open source ↗

Past incidents using this CVE

(1)

This CVE was central to one or more publicly-documented breaches. Each card links to authoritative reporting at the time of the incident.

  • Equifax breach (Apache Struts)Sep 2017147M+ affected

    Apache Struts OGNL injection vulnerability — Equifax failed to patch for 2 months, leading to one of the largest PII breaches in history. 147M US consumers exposed.

    Source: CSO Online

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 is a critical vulnerability published on March 11, 2017. The Jakarta Multipart parser in Apache Struts 2 2.3.x before 2.3.32 and 2.5.x before 2.5.10.1 has incorrect exception handling and error-message generation during file-upload attempts, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted Content-Type, Content-Disposition, or…
When was CVE-2017-5638 disclosed?
CVE-2017-5638 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 11, 2017, with the most recent update on April 21, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2017-5638 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2017-5638 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on November 3, 2021, affecting Apache Struts. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
Which products are affected by CVE-2017-5638?
CVE-2017-5638 affects Apache Struts. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2017-5638?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2017-5638, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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