CVE-2023-46589 Apache Tomcat: HTTP request smuggling via malformed trailer headers
Attackers can smuggle HTTP requests via malformed trailer headers in Apache Tomcat, potentially bypassing security controls or accessing unauthorized data.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-46589?
CVE-2023-46589 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Tomcat, published on 28 Nov 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in Apache Tomcat.Tomcat from 11.0.0-M1 through 11.0.0-M10, from 10.1.0-M1 through 10.1.15, from 9.0.0-M1 through 9.0.82 and from 8.5.0 through 8.5.95 did not correctly parse HTTP trailer headers. A trailer header that exceeded the header size limit could cause Tomcat to treat a single request as multiple requests leading to the possibility of request smuggling when behind a reverse proxy.
Older, EOL versions may also be affected.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 11.0.0-M11 onwards, 10.1.16 onwards, 9.0.83 onwards or 8.5.96 onwards, which fix the issue.
Weakness: CWE-444
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-46589?
19 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core, tomcat and org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 10.1.0-M1 | 10.1.16 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 10.1.0-M1 | 10.1.16 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 8.5.0 | 8.5.96 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 8.5.0 | 8.5.96 |
13 more packages
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 9.0.0-M1 | 9.0.83 |
org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core Maven | From 9.0.0-M1 | 9.0.83 |
tomcat Bitnami | From 8.5.0 | 8.5.96, 9.0.83, 10.1.16 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 10.1.0-M1 | 10.1.16 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 10.1.0-M1 | 10.1.16 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 8.5.0 | 8.5.96 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 8.5.0 | 8.5.96 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 9.0.0-M1 | 9.0.83 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-catalina Maven | From 9.0.0-M1 | 9.0.83 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
org.apache.tomcat:tomcat-coyote Maven | From 11.0.0-M1 | 11.0.0-M11 |
Linux distribution packages (21)
tomcat AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-admin-webapps AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-docs-webapp AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-el-3.0-api AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-jsp-2.3-api AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-lib AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-servlet-4.0-api AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-webapps AlmaLinux:8 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-admin-webapps AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-docs-webapp AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-el-3.0-api AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-jsp-2.3-api AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-lib AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-servlet-4.0-api AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat-webapps AlmaLinux:9 | All versions | 1:9.0.62-37.el9_3.2 |
tomcat Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-admin-webapps Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-docs-webapp Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-el-3.0-api Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
tomcat-jsp-2.3-api Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 1:9.0.62-27.el8_9.3 |
Products include Apache Tomcat.
How do I fix CVE-2023-46589?
Upgrade org.apache.tomcat.embed:tomcat-embed-core to a fixed version for your release line: 10.1.16, 11.0.0-M11, 8.5.96 or 9.0.83.
Is CVE-2023-46589 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-46589 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Tomcat
Sources
Also known as ALSA-2024:0539, ALSA-2024:1134, BIT-tomcat-2023-46589, CLSA-2024-1705081413, CLSA-2024-1707420277, CLSA-2025-1742924802 and 18 more.