CVE-2025-46701
Description
A flaw was found in the CGI servlet component of Apache Tomcat. This vulnerability allows a security constraint bypass via improper handling of case sensitivity in the pathInfo component of a URI mapped to the CGI servlet.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated Moderate rather than Important due to several limiting technical factors that reduce its overall impact and exploitability. Firstly, the flaw only manifests on case-insensitive file systems (e.g., Windows NTFS or macOS HFS+), which are less common in production-grade Tomcat deployments, most of which run on case-sensitive Linux file systems. Secondly, the bypass only occurs when security constraints are defined specifically on the pathInfo portion of URLs mapped to the CGI servlet — a relatively uncommon and niche configuration in modern Tomcat-based applications, where URL-based access control tends to use more direct patterns or broader filters. Additionally, successful exploitation does not lead to remote code execution or denial of service, but rather circumvents access control under specific conditions.
Mitigation
Mitigation is either unavailable or does not meet Red Hat Product Security standards for usability, deployment, applicability, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | N/A | 7.3 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
Frequently Asked Questions
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