CVE-2016-4438

The REST plugin in Apache Struts 2 2.3.19 through 2.3.28.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted expression.

Published: 2016-07-04 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-4438 is rated High Risk (68/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 17.17%, 97th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-4438

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 2026-06-15 62.09% 17.17% -44.92%
2 2026-03-17 74.56% 62.09% -12.48%
3 2026-03-04 — 74.56% —

Full EPSS history (22 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-4438

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
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.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-4438

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-4438

GHSA-4prj-vw9j-v6pr · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Arbitrary code execution in Apache Struts 2

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-4438

vendor priority summary link
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-4438
suse critical CVE-2016-4438 severity critical: SUSE including 3 source package names (struts, struts-javadoc, struts-manual), 5 product×package rows across 3 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit 11 SP4, SUSE Manager Server 2.1, SUSE Manager Server 3.0): Known Not Affected 5. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-4438/
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-4438 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, released 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-4438

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-4438

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
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 2.3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.20.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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 2.3.24.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.24.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.28 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-4438

cvelogic Threat Intelligence