CVE-2016-4465

The URLValidator class in Apache Struts 2 2.3.20 through 2.3.28.1 and 2.5.x before 2.5.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a null value for a URL field.

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-2016-4465 is rated Moderate Risk (50.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 10.41%, 93th 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-2016-4465

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 2026-03-04 13.34% 10.41% -2.93%
2 2025-06-24 10.28% 13.34% +3.06%
3 2025-06-22 — 10.28% —

Full EPSS history (10 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-4465

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L 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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-4465

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-4465

GHSA-xg75-68x3-7p3q · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — Apache Struts vulnerable to possible DoS attack when using URLValidator

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-4465

vendor priority summary link
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-4465
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-4465 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-2016-4465

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-4465

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:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.28.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.28.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.5:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.5:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.5 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.5:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-4465

cvelogic Threat Intelligence