Security News
Apache has taken another shot at fixing a critical remote code execution vulnerability in its Struts 2 framework for Java applications - because the first patch, issued in 2020, didn't fully do the trick. The security flaw exists in Struts versions 2.0.0 to 2.5.29, and an attacker could exploit it to gain control of a vulnerable system.
Apache has fixed a critical vulnerability in its vastly popular Struts project that was previously believed to have been resolved but, as it turns out, wasn't fully remedied. Tracked as CVE-2021-31805, the critical vulnerability exists in Struts 2 versions from 2.0.0 up to and including 2.5.29.
The Apache Software Foundation has released a security update for Struts 2, to address what is described as a "Possible remote code execution" flaw related to the OGNL technology. Tracked as CVE-2020-17530, the newly addressed bug resides in "Forced OGNL evaluation, when evaluated on raw user input in tag attributes," according to an Apache advisory.
Have you already updated your Apache Struts 2 to version 2.5.22, released in November 2019? You might want to, and quickly, as information about a potential RCE vulnerability and PoC exploits for it have been published. "We continue to urge developers building upon Struts 2 to not use % syntax referencing unvalidated user modifiable input in tag attributes, since this is the ultimate fix for this class of vulnerabilities," René Gielen, Struts Project Management Committee chair, added.
Proof-of-concept exploit code surfaced on GitHub on Friday, raising the stakes on two existing Apache Struts 2 bugs that allow for remote code-execution and denial-of-service attacks on vulnerable installations. Remediation includes upgrading to Struts 2.5.22, according to the Apache Struts Security Team.
WordPress and Apache Struts vulnerabilities were the most-targeted by cybercriminals in web and application frameworks in 2019 - while input-validation bugs edged out cross-site scripting as the most-weaponized weakness type. The firm found that WordPress and Apache Struts alone accounted for a combined 57 percent of exploited framework bugs during the year.
A study that analyzed all the vulnerability disclosures between 2010 and 2019 found that around 55% of all the security bugs that have been weaponized and exploited in the wild were for two major application frameworks, namely WordPress and Apache Struts. The Drupal content management system ranked third, followed by Ruby on Rails and Laravel, according to a report published this week by risk analysis firm RiskSense.
Among the report's key findings, total framework vulnerabilities in 2019 went down but the weaponization rate went up, WordPress and Apache Struts had the most weaponized vulnerabilities, and input validation surpassed cross-site scripting as the most weaponized weakness in the frameworks examined. "Even if best application development practices are used, framework vulnerabilities can expose organizations to security breaches. Meanwhile, upgrading frameworks can be risky because changes can affect the behavior, appearance, or inherent security of applications," said Srinivas Mukkamala, CEO of RiskSense.
Researchers found that 24 security advisories inaccurately listed affected versions for the open-source development framework.
Two dozen security advisories for the Apache Struts open source development framework have been updated after researchers determined that they contained incorrect information regarding which...