CVE-2016-3081

Exp

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.

Published: 2016-04-26 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-3081 is rated High Exploit Risk (82.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 94.17%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2016-3081

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
39756 exploit_db edb 2016-05-02 Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-3081

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-04 93.97% 94.17% +0.20%
2 2026-03-17 93.89% 93.97% +0.08%
3 2026-03-04 93.89%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-3081

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.1 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.2 5.9 [email protected]
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-3081

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-3081

GHSA-8c6j-ffmf-q6vm · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Apache Struts RCE Vulnerability

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-3081

vendor priority summary link
suse high CVE-2016-3081 severity important: SUSE including 3 source package names (struts, struts-javadoc, struts-manual), 4 product×package rows across 2 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4, SUSE Manager Server 2.1): Known Not Affected 4. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-3081/
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-3081 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libstruts1.2-java), 11 status rows across 11 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): DNE 9, ignored 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-3081

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-3081

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache struts 2.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.7 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.8 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.9 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.10 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.11 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.11.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.11.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.11.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.12 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.13 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.0.14 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.0.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.4 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.6 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.8 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.1.8.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.1.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.2.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.2.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.2.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.2.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.2.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.4 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.4.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.7 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.8 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.12 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.14 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.14.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.14.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.14.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.15 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.15.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.15.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.15.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.15.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.16 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.16.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.16.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.16.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.16.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.16.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.20 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.20.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.20.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.24 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.24.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.24.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.28 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle siebel_e-billing 7.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:siebel_e-billing:7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-3081

URL Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/136856/Apache-Struts-2.3.28-Dynamic-Method-Invocation-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory
http://www.huawei.com/en/psirt/security-advisories/huawei-sa-20160527-01-struts2-en
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2016-2881720.html Patch Third Party Advisory
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2016-2881722.html Vendor Advisory
http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/linux/http/struts_dmi_exec Third Party Advisory
http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_exec
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/87327
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91787 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035665 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-032.html Patch Vendor Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39756/
cvelogic Threat Intelligence