CVE-2011-3190 in Tomcat
Summary
by MITRE
Certain AJP protocol connector implementations in Apache Tomcat 7.0.0 through 7.0.20, 6.0.0 through 6.0.33, 5.5.0 through 5.5.33, and possibly other versions allow remote attackers to spoof AJP requests, bypass authentication, and obtain sensitive information by causing the connector to interpret a request body as a new request.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/18/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-3190 represents a critical security flaw in the Apache Tomcat application server that affects multiple versions across its major releases. This issue specifically targets the AJP protocol connector implementation, which serves as a bridge between Tomcat and web servers like Apache HTTPD through the AJP protocol. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of request boundaries within the AJP connector, creating a condition where malicious actors can manipulate request processing to bypass authentication mechanisms and access protected resources.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of AJP request bodies, where attackers can craft malicious requests that cause the Tomcat connector to incorrectly parse the request data. When a request body is processed, the connector may misinterpret portions of the body as the beginning of a new request, effectively allowing attackers to inject additional requests into the processing pipeline. This misinterpretation enables unauthorized access to applications behind the Tomcat server, as the authentication checks are bypassed when the connector processes what it perceives as separate requests rather than a single maliciously crafted request.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple authentication bypass, as it can lead to complete compromise of web applications hosted on affected Tomcat instances. Attackers can leverage this flaw to access sensitive information, perform unauthorized operations, and potentially escalate their privileges within the application environment. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates at the protocol level, making it difficult to detect through standard application-level security controls and potentially allowing persistent access to protected resources without leaving obvious traces in application logs.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including updating to patched versions of Apache Tomcat, disabling AJP connectors when not required, and implementing network-level restrictions to limit access to AJP ports. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically addressing improper access control through protocol-level manipulation. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566 Initial Access through the exploitation of protocol flaws and T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol for AJP protocol abuse. The flaw demonstrates how protocol-level implementations can create security weaknesses that bypass traditional authentication mechanisms, emphasizing the importance of secure protocol design and implementation in enterprise web applications.