Apache Tomcat 5.5.x < 5.5.30 Multiple Vulnerabilities

According to its self-reported version number, the Apache Tomcat server listening on the remote host is 5.5.x prior to 5.5.30. It is, therefore, affected by multiple vulnerabilities:

• An error in the access restriction on a ‘ServletContext’ attribute which holds the location of the work directory in Tomcat’s SecurityManager. A remote attacker may be able to modify the location of the working directory which then allows improper read and write access to arbitrary files and directories in the context of Tomcat.(CVE-2010-3718)

• An error exists in the handling of the ‘Transfer-Encoding’ header of a client request. This error affects buffer recycling and may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information or allow a denial of service attack to be successful. (CVE-2010-2227)

• An error exists in the handling of the ‘<realm-name>’ element in a web application’s web.xml file. If the element is missing from the web.xml file and the application is using BASIC or DIGEST authentication, Tomcat will include the server’s hostname or IP address in the ‘WWW-Authenticate’ header of the response. (CVE-2010-1157)

Note that Nessus Network Monitor did not actually test for the flaws but instead has relied on the version in Tomcat’s banner or error page so this may be a false positive.