CVE-2016-1240
The Tomcat init script in the tomcat7 package before 7.0.56-3+deb8u4 and tomcat8 package before 8.0.14-1+deb8u3 on Debian jessie and the…
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- debian
Description
The Tomcat init script in the tomcat7 package before 7.0.56-3+deb8u4 and tomcat8 package before 8.0.14-1+deb8u3 on Debian jessie and the tomcat6 and libtomcat6-java packages before 6.0.35-1ubuntu3.8 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, the tomcat7 and libtomcat7-java packages before 7.0.52-1ubuntu0.7 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, and tomcat8 and libtomcat8-java packages before 8.0.32-1ubuntu1.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS allows local users with access to the tomcat account to gain root privileges via a symlink attack on the Catalina log file, as demonstrated by /var/log/tomcat7/catalina.out.
Public exploit
A reference of the record is tagged as an exploit or proof of concept: anyone can try it against an unpatched system.
- 40450 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_transferred
Timeline
ID reserved
By debian
- 9 months later
· 9 months later
Published
- 8 years later
· 8 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.0 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 9.8% · top 4.4% of all CVEs (8 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.8.
Weakness
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References (14)
- 1036845 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_transferred
- DSA-3670 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- GLSA-201705-09 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- http://legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-DebPkgs-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit-CVE-2016-1240.html (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- 93263 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_transferred
- RHSA-2017:0457 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180731-0002/ (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
- 40450 (opens in a new tab)exploitx_transferred
- DSA-3669 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- RHSA-2017:0455 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- 20161001 CVE-2016-1240 - Tomcat packaging on Debian-based distros - Local Root Privilege Escalation (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_transferred
- RHSA-2017:0456 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- USN-3081-1 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/170857/Apache-Tomcat-On-Ubuntu-Log-Init-Privilege-Escalation.html (opens in a new tab)x_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2016-1240)Record last updated .