CVE-2016-5425
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and...
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and possibly other Linux distributions uses weak permissions for /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, which allows local users to gain root privileges by leveraging membership in the tomcat group.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
7.8
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and possibly other Linux distributions uses weak permissions for /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, which allows local users to gain root privileges by leveraging membership in the tomcat group.
- Record
CVE-2016-5425- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-276
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and possibly other Linux distributions uses weak permissions for /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, which allows local users to gain root privileges by leveraging membership in the tomcat group.
- Record
CVE-2016-5425- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-6370 No score
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and possibly other Linux distributions uses weak permissions for /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, which allows local users to gain root privileges by leveraging membership in the tomcat group.
- Record
EUVD-2016-6370- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-c7fc-mp9g-99j3
7.8
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and...
The Tomcat package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7, Fedora, CentOS, Oracle Linux, and possibly other Linux distributions uses weak permissions for /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, which allows local users to gain root privileges by leveraging membership in the tomcat group.
- Record
GHSA-c7fc-mp9g-99j3- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-276
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2016:2046
8.1
Red Hat Security Advisory: tomcat security update
- Record
RHSA-2016:2046- CVSS 3.0
- 8.1 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2016-0367 No score
Updated tomcat packages fix security vulnerability
The Realm implementations did not process the supplied password if the supplied user name did not exist. This made a timing attack possible to determine valid user names. Note that the default configuration includes the LockOutRealm which makes exploitation of this vulnerability harder (CVE-2016-0762).
A malicious web application was able to bypass a configured SecurityManager via a Tomcat utility method that was accessible to web applications (CVE-2016-5018).
It was discovered that the Tomcat packages installed configuration file /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf writeable to the tomcat group. A member of the group or a malicious web application deployed on Tomcat could use this flaw to escalate their privileges (CVE-2016-5425).
It was discovered that the Tomcat packages installed certain configuration files read by the Tomcat initialization script as writeable to the tomcat group. A member of the group or a malicious web application deployed on Tomcat could use this flaw to escalate their privileges (CVE-2016-6325).
When a SecurityManager is configured, a web application's ability to read system properties should be controlled by the SecurityManager. Tomcat's system property replacement feature for configuration files could be used by a malicious web application to bypass the SecurityManager and read system properties that should not be visible (CVE-2016-6794).
A malicious web application was able to bypass a configured SecurityManager via manipulation of the configuration parameters for the JSP Servlet (CVE-2016-6796).
The ResourceLinkFactory did not limit web application access to global JNDI resources to those resources explicitly linked to the web application. Therefore, it was possible for a web application to access any global JNDI resource whether an explicit ResourceLink had been configured or not (CVE-2016-6797).
- Record
MGASA-2016-0367- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
tomcatMageia:5 |
before 7.0.72-1.mga5 | 7.0.72-1.mga5 |
tomcatRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-servlet-3.0-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-admin-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-docs-webappRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-el-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-javadocRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsp-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsvcRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-libRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
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| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
tomcat-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcatRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-servlet-3.0-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-admin-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-docs-webappRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-el-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-javadocRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsp-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsvcRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-libRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcatRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-admin-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-el-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsp-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-libRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-servlet-3.0-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-docs-webappRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-javadocRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsvcRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcatRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-admin-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-el-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsp-2.2-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-libRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-servlet-3.0-apiRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-webappsRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-docs-webappRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-javadocRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
tomcat-jsvcRed Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation |
before 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 | 0:7.0.54-8.el7_2 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | Apache Tomcat 8/7/6 (RedHat Based Distros) - Local Privilege Escalation | 2016-10-10 |
| Metasploit | Apache Tomcat on RedHat Based Systems Insecure Temp Config Privilege Escalation | 2016-10-10 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2016-5425 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Apache Tomcat, published October 13, 2016. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.78%, the 89th percentile. Fixed in tomcat 7.0.72-1.mga5.
References
securitytracker.com/id/1036979
securityfocus.com/bid/93472
oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinoct2016-3090545.html
packetstormsecurity.com/files/139041/Apache-Tomcat-8-7-6-Privilege-Escalation.html
legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-RedHat-Pkgs-Root-PrivEsc-Exploit-CVE-2016-5425.html
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/10/2
Show 41 moreShow less
rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-2046.html
exploit-db.com/exploits/40488
lists.apache.org/thread.html/6b414817c2b0bf351138911c8c922ec5dd577ebc0b9a7f42d705752d%40%3Cissues.activemq.apache.org%3E
oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2019-5072832.html
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5425
lists.apache.org/thread.html/6b414817c2b0bf351138911c8c922ec5dd577ebc0b9a7f42d705752d@%3Cissues.activemq.apache.org%3E
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016:2046
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-5425
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1362545
legalhackers.com/advisories/Tomcat-RedHat-based-Root-Privilege-Escalation-Exploit.txt
github.com/advisories/GHSA-c7fc-mp9g-99j3
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2016-0367.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=19672
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/27/7
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/27/8
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/27/9
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/27/10
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/10/27/11
access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification
tomcat.apache.org/security-7.html
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1222573
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1311085
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1353809
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1367447
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2016/rhsa-2016_2046.json
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2014-7810
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-7810
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-7810
tomcat.apache.org/security-6.html
tomcat.apache.org/security-8.html
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-5346
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-5346
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5346
seclists.org/bugtraq/2016/Feb/143
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-5388
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5388
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5388
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5425
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-6325
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6325
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6325