CVE-2016-6795

In the Convention plugin in Apache Struts 2.3.x before 2.3.31, and 2.5.x before 2.5.5, it is possible to prepare a special URL which will be used for path traversal and execution of arbitrary code on server side.

Published: 2017-09-20 Last update: 2026-05-13 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2016-6795 is rated High Risk (75.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 8.44%, 94th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +3.71% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: 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-2016-6795

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 4.73% 8.44% +3.71%
2 2026-05-24 5.05% 4.73% -0.32%
3 2026-03-04 5.05%

Full EPSS history (19 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-6795

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-2016-6795

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2016-6795

GHSA-44hv-jjx7-qfjg · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Path Traversal in Apache Struts

OS Trackers for CVE-2016-6795

vendor priority summary link
ubuntu medium CVE-2016-6795 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libstruts1.2-java), 7 status rows across 7 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, trusty, upstream, xenial, zesty): DNE 6, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2016-6795

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-6795

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 2.3.20.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.20.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.20.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.20.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.21 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.22 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.23 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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 2.3.24.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.24.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.24.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.24.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.25 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.26 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.27 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.27:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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 2.3.29 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.29:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache struts 2.3.30 cpe:2.3:a:apache:struts:2.3.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-6795

cvelogic Threat Intelligence