CVE-2019-0232

Exp

When running on Windows with enableCmdLineArguments enabled, the CGI Servlet in Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.17, 8.5.0 to 8.5.39 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.93 is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution due to a bug in the way the JRE passes command line arguments to Windows. The CGI Servlet is disabled by default. The CGI option enableCmdLineArguments is disable by default in Tomcat 9.0.x (and will be disabled by default in all versions in response to this vulnerability). For a detailed explanation of the JRE behaviour, see Markus Wulftange's blog (https://codewhitesec.blogspot.com/2016/02/java-and-command-line-injections-in-windows.html) and this archived MSDN blog (https://web.archive.org/web/20161228144344/https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/twistylittlepassagesallalike/2011/04/23/everyone-quotes-command-line-arguments-the-wrong-way/).

Published: 2019-04-15 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2019-0232 is rated High Exploit Risk (82.5/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 94.22%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: 1 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-2019-0232

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
47073 exploit_db edb 2019-07-03 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-0232

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 2026-04-30 94.05% 94.22% +0.17%
2 2026-03-28 93.84% 94.05% +0.21%
3 2026-03-11 93.84%

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-0232

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-2019-0232

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2019-0232

GHSA-8vmx-qmch-mpqg · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Apache Tomcat OS Command Injection vulnerability

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-0232

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2019-0232 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (tomcat9), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-0232
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-0232
ubuntu low CVE-2019-0232 low priority: Ubuntu including 3 source packages (tomcat7, tomcat8, tomcat9), 15 status rows across 5 suites (bionic, cosmic, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 12, DNE 3. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-0232

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-0232

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache tomcat >= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.93 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat >= 8.5.0, <= 8.5.39 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat >= 9.0.1, <= 9.0.17 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone10:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone11:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone12:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone13:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone14:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone15:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone16:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone17:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone18:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone19:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone20:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone21:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone22:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone23:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone24:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone25:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone26:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone4:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone5:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone6:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone7:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone8:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache tomcat 9.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:9.0.0:milestone9:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-0232

URL Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/153506/Apache-Tomcat-CGIServlet-enableCmdLineArguments-Remote-Code-Execution.html
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/May/4
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107906 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:1712
https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/uncovering-cve-2019-0232-a-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-apache-tomcat/
https://codewhitesec.blogspot.com/2016/02/java-and-command-line-injections-in-windows.html Third Party Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/1dd0a59c1295cc08ce4c9e7edae5ad2268acc9ba55adcefa0532e5ba%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/3d19773b4cf0377db62d1e9328bf9160bf1819f04f988315086931d7%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/52ffb9fbf661245386a83a661183d13f1de2e5779fa23837a08e02ac%40%3Ccommits.ofbiz.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/5f297a4b9080b5f65a05bc139596d0e437d6a539b25e31d29d028767%40%3Cannounce.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/673b6148d92cd7bc99ea2dcf85ad75d57da44fc322d51f37fb529a2a%40%3Ccommits.ofbiz.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/6af47120905aa7d8fe12f42e8ff2284fb338ba141d3b77b8c7cb61b3%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/96849486813a95dfd542e1618b7923ca945508aaf4a4341f674d83e3%40%3Cnotifications.ofbiz.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/a6c87a09a71162fd563ab1c4e70a08a103e0b7c199fc391f1c9c4c35%40%3Ccommits.ofbiz.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/dd4b325cdb261183dbf5ce913c102920a8f09c26dae666a98309165b%40%3Cnotifications.ofbiz.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/f4d48b32ef2b6aa49c8830241a9475da5b46e451f964b291c7a0a715%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3bbb800a816d0a51eccc5a228c58736960a9fffafa581a225834d97d%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r48c1444845fe15a823e1374674bfc297d5008a5453788099ea14caf0%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6ccee4e849bc77df0840c7f853f6bd09d426f6741247da2b7429d5d9%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6d03e45b81eab03580cf7f8bb51cb3e9a1b10a2cc0c6a2d3cc92ed0c%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r9136ff5b13e4f1941360b5a309efee2c114a14855578c3a2cbe5d19c%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/raba0fabaf4d56d4325ab2aca8814f0b30a237ab83d8106b115ee279a%40%3Cdev.tomcat.apache.org%3E
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190419-0001/ Third Party Advisory
https://web.archive.org/web/20161228144344/https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/twistylittlepassagesallalike/2011/04/23/everyone-quotes-command-line-arguments-the-wrong-way/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.broadcom.com/support/fibre-channel-networking/security-advisories/brocade-security-advisory-2019-784 Technical Description
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.html
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2019-5072835.html
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2019-5072832.html
https://www.synology.com/security/advisory/Synology_SA_19_17
https://wwws.nightwatchcybersecurity.com/2019/04/30/remote-code-execution-rce-in-cgi-servlet-apache-tomcat-on-windows-cve-2019-0232/
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