CVE-2023-50164
An attacker can manipulate file upload params to enable paths traversal and under some circumstances this can lead to uploading a malicious file which can be used to perform Remote Code Execution. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions Struts 2.5.33 or Struts 6.3.0.2 or greater to fix this issue.
- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Exploited in the wild
- Not knownUnvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub; not in CISA KEV
- EPSS
- 80.8%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.4% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 7 Dec 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation Apache Struts | >= 2.0.0 and <= 2.5.32>= 6.0.0 and <= 6.3.0.1Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- apache:struts
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. Azure WAF publishes WAF rules written for this CVE. Such rules block the known exploit requests and buy time, but attackers can change the request to get past them, so they do not replace the patch.
Also consider: patch · enable the vendor rule in block mode
Based on WAF vendor rules published for this CVE. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Not listed as of our last sync.
- Public exploit code
- Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 15 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 16 Dec 2024 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
GitHub proofs of concept
- jakabakos/CVE-2023-50164-Apache-Struts-RCE84 stars
- dwisiswant0/cve-2023-50164-poc57 stars
- Trackflaw/CVE-2023-50164-ApacheStruts2-Docker6 stars
- snyk-labs/CVE-2023-50164-POC6 stars
and 11 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 7 Dec 2023Published
- 13 Dec 2023First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)6 days later
- 16 Dec 2024CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc369 days (about 1 year) later
- 14 Mar 2025CVE record last updated88 days (about 3 months) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com608 days (about 2 years) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | NoneNo victim action needed. | No victim action needed. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-50164 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2023-50164 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 81% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2023-50164?
CVE-2023-50164 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-50164?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-50164. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-50164 affect?
CVE-2023-50164 affects apache:struts. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
4 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Advisories (1)
- lists.apache.org /thread/yh09b3fkf6vz5d6jdgrlvmg60lfwtqhj
Other links (3)
- openwall.com /lists/oss-security/2023/12/07/1
- packetstormsecurity.com /files/176157/Struts-S2-066-File-Upload-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- security.netapp.com /advisory/ntap-20231214-0010/
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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