CVE-2008-6504 Improper Input Validation in OpenSymphony XWork

What is CVE-2008-6504?

CVE-2008-6504 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Apache Struts, published on 23 Mar 2009. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

ParametersInterceptor in OpenSymphony XWork 2.0.x before 2.0.6 and 2.1.x before 2.1.2, as used in Apache Struts and other products, does not properly restrict # (pound sign) references to context objects, which allows remote attackers to execute Object-Graph Navigation Language (OGNL) statements and modify server-side context objects, as demonstrated by use of a \u0023 representation for the # character.

Weakness: CWE-20

Which versions are affected by CVE-2008-6504?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.opensymphony:xwork. It affects 2 products.

Products include Apache Struts, Opensymphony Xwork.

How do I fix CVE-2008-6504?

Upgrade com.opensymphony:xwork to a fixed version for your release line: 2.0.6 or 2.1.2.

Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.

Is CVE-2008-6504 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2008-6504 exists.

Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Struts

• CVE-2020-17530 Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2017-9791 Apache Struts 1 Improper Input Validation Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2017-5638 Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2012-0391 Apache Struts 2 Improper Input Validation Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2018-11776 Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Exploited High 8.1

All Apache Struts vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-wxw2-2mx5-c5qf.