# CVE-2003-0045: Jakarta Tomcat Denial of Service vulnerability

> Remote attackers can cause denial of service in Jakarta Tomcat on Windows by requesting JSP pages with MS-DOS device names, hanging threads.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Sep 2004
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w97x-xfxf-f9xj

## What is CVE-2003-0045?

CVE-2003-0045 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Tomcat, published on 1 Sep 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Jakarta Tomcat before 3.3.1a on certain Windows systems may allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (thread hang and resource consumption) via a request for a JSP page containing an MS-DOS device name, such as aux.jsp.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0045?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.tomcat:tomcat. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.apache.tomcat:tomcat` | Maven | All versions | 3.3.1a |
| `org.apache.tomcat:tomcat` | Maven | All versions | 3.3.1a |

Products: Apache Tomcat.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0045?

Upgrade org.apache.tomcat:tomcat to 3.3.1a or later.

## Is CVE-2003-0045 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Apache Tomcat

- [CVE-2025-24813](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24813/): Apache Tomcat Path Equivalence (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-8735](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8735/): Apache Tomcat Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-12617](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12617/): Apache Tomcat Remote Code Execution (high 8.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-12615](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12615/): Apache Tomcat on Windows Remote Code Execution (high 8.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-34486](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-34486/): Apache Tomcat Missing Encryption of Sensitive Data (high 7.5, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0045 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0045 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Apache Tomcat, published on 1 Sep 2004. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2003-0045 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.1a
- org.apache.tomcat:tomcat (Maven): affected all versions; fixed in 3.3.1a

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0045/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0045/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0045
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0045
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0045

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0045/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.