CVE-2024-52316: Apache Tomcat: Authentication bypass when using Jakarta Authentication API

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2024-52316 is a critical (CVSS 9.8) DEPRECATED: Unchecked Error Condition vulnerability in apache software foundation apache tomcat. EPSS estimates a 6.25% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 93.5% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 18-11-2024
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 04-11-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Unchecked Error Condition vulnerability in Apache Tomcat. If Tomcat is configured to use a custom Jakarta Authentication (formerly JASPIC) ServerAuthContext component which may throw an exception during the authentication process without explicitly setting an HTTP status to indicate failure, the authentication may not fail, allowing the user to bypass the authentication process. There are no known Jakarta Authentication components that behave in this way. This issue affects Apache Tomcat: from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M26, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.30, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.95. The following versions were EOL at the time the CVE was created but are known to be affected: 8.5.0 though 8.5.100. Other EOL versions may also be affected. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0, 10.1.31 or 9.0.96, which fix the issue.

• CWE-391DEPRECATED: Unchecked Error ConditionThis entry has been deprecated because it used ambiguous terminology and incorporated and confused multiple weaknesses. See Mapping Notes for other recommendations, and see Maintenance Notes for more detailed explanations.
• CWE-754Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional ConditionsThe product does not check or incorrectly checks for unusual or exceptional conditions that are not expected to occur frequently during day to day operation of the product.