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CVE-2020-1938

When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat. Tomcat treats AJP connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exp…

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When using the Apache JServ Protocol (AJP), care must be taken when trusting incoming connections to Apache Tomcat. Tomcat treats AJP connections as having higher trust than, for example, a similar HTTP connection. If such connections are available to an attacker, they can be exploited in ways that may be surprising. In Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.30, 8.5.0 to 8.5.50 and 7.0.0 to 7.0.99, Tomcat shipped with an AJP Connector enabled by default that listened on all configured IP addresses. It was expected (and recommended in the security guide) that this Connector would be disabled if not required. This vulnerability report identified a mechanism that allowed: - returning arbitrary files from anywhere in the web application - processing any file in the web application as a JSP Further, if the web application allowed file upload and stored those files within the web application (or the attacker was able to control the content of the web application by some other means) then this, along with the ability to process a file as a JSP, made remote code execution possible. It is important to note that mitigation is only required if an AJP port is accessible to untrusted users. Users wishing to take a defence-in-depth approach and block the vector that permits returning arbitrary files and execution as JSP may upgrade to Apache Tomcat 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later. A number of changes were made to the default AJP Connector configuration in 9.0.31 to harden the default configuration. It is likely that users upgrading to 9.0.31, 8.5.51 or 7.0.100 or later will need to make small changes to their configurations.
CVSS 9.8 (CRITICAL) KEV: KNOWN CATALOG

Attention and evidence

HYPE SCORE
0.0/10
REALITY · THREAT PRIORITY
9.0/10
General review priority; not probability

Evidence confidence: Exploitation recorded

Why this priority?
  • Recorded exploitation baseline: +7.00
  • Technical severity: CVSS 9.8: +1.47
  • Fresh EPSS: 99.27%: +0.50

General review priority, not probability, victim count or asset-specific risk. A range covers missing CVSS/EPSS inputs within the current evidence state.

Sources: 6 documents and public datasets.

Hype components

Headline sample (25%)
0/100
Press, 30 days (60%)
0/100
Grounded branding (15%)
0/100
HYPE TOTAL0/100

Sources and documents

The Hacker News
Press · 09 Jul 2021, 07:00 · Critical Flaws Reported in Philips Vue PACS Medical Imaging Systems - The Hacker News
Rapid7
Press · 04 Dec 2020, 08:00 · Metasploit Wrap-Up: 12/4/20 - Rapid7
www.trendmicro.com
Press · 10 Mar 2020, 07:00 · Busting Ghostcat: Analysis of CVE-2020-1938 - www.trendmicro.com
Sonatype
Press · 09 Mar 2020, 07:00 · What's in a Ghostcat? CVE-2020-1938 Apache Tomcat LFI and RCE Risks - Sonatype
Qualys
Press · 05 Mar 2020, 08:00 · Automatically Discover, Prioritize and Remediate Apache Tomcat AJP File Inclusion Vulnerability (CVE-2020-1938) using Qualys VMDR - Qualys
See all 6 source documents
BleepingComputer
Press · 02 Mar 2020, 08:00 · Active Scans for Apache Tomcat Ghostcat Vulnerability Detected, Patch Now - BleepingComputer

Score evolution

● Hype   ● Reality

Earlier evidence-support scores are retained in history; this chart shows only the current priority definition.

First record: hype 0.0 · reality 9.0 (2026-11-02 15:12). The curve appears once the score changes.

Public exploit evidence

5

Public exploit entries / repo candidates

See 5 repos with metrics
RepositoryStarsForksLanguageUpdated
zhzyker/exphub4,2931,078Python04 Apr 2021, 09:13
sv3nbeast/CVE-2020-1938-Tomact-file_include-file_read5718Python21 Feb 2020, 10:19
abrewer251/CVE-2020-1938_Ghostcat-PoC00Python11 Dec 2025, 20:36
b1cat/CVE_2020_1938_ajp_poc00Python26 Feb 2020, 13:06
lem0n817/tomcatfileread00Python04 Sep 2026, 03:47
Public exploit evidence
Evidence context and dated references

Reality is general threat/review priority, combining observed exploitation, CVSS severity and fresh EPSS. Evidence confidence is separate. This is not calibrated risk, a victim count or an asset-specific assessment. A range reflects missing numeric inputs.

Evidence in context

Confidence in exploitation evidence
Exploitation recorded
Priority basis
Recorded exploitation; CVSS 9.8; EPSS 99.3%
Attention, last 30 days
0 distinct story titles; 0 press documents; 0 publisher domains.
Technical potential
network access, no prior privileges, no user interaction.
Observed activity
Exploitation recorded in CISA KEV.
Known scale
Not quantified.
Evidence confidence basis
Trusted exploitation confirmation

Score evaluated: 2026-11-05 13:58:15.404261+00:00 · EPSS snapshot: 2026-11-05T12:03:04Z

Source event timeline
Published
24 Feb 2020, 21:19
First press mention
02 Mar 2020, 08:00
Latest press mention
09 Jul 2021, 07:00
Added to the CISA KEV catalog
03 Mar 2022, 00:00
Score calculated
05 Nov 2026, 13:58
PoCs on GitHub
5 repositories