CVE Intelligence
Medium Access control

CVE-2012-5885 — Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in Apache Software Foundation Tomcat

The replay-countermeasure functionality in the HTTP Digest Access Authentication implementation in Apache Tomcat 5.5.x before 5.5.36, 6.x before 6.0.36, and 7.x before 7.0.30 tracks cnonce (aka client nonce) values instead of nonce (aka server nonce) and nc (aka nonce-count) values, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by sniffing the network for valid requests, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-1184.

Published Nov 17, 2012 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: mitre

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 9% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
8.98%
ahead of 95% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Apache Software Foundation
Tomcat
CVSS base
5.0
Medium · 1 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Apache Software Foundation Tomcat).
  2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  4. EPSS ahead of 95% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Apache Software Foundation Tomcat version 5.5.0version 5.5.1version 5.5.2version 5.5.3version 5.5.4version 5.5.5version 5.5.6version 5.5.7
and 99 more version 5.5.8version 5.5.9version 5.5.10version 5.5.11version 5.5.12version 5.5.13version 5.5.14version 5.5.15version 5.5.16version 5.5.17version 5.5.18version 5.5.19version 5.5.20version 5.5.21version 5.5.22version 5.5.23version 5.5.24version 5.5.25version 5.5.26version 5.5.27version 5.5.28version 5.5.29version 5.5.30version 5.5.31version 5.5.32version 5.5.33version 5.5.34version 5.5.35version 6.0version 6.0.0version 6.0.0-alphaversion 6.0.1version 6.0.1-alphaversion 6.0.2version 6.0.2-alphaversion 6.0.2-betaversion 6.0.3version 6.0.4version 6.0.4-alphaversion 6.0.5version 6.0.6version 6.0.6-alphaversion 6.0.7version 6.0.7-alphaversion 6.0.7-betaversion 6.0.8version 6.0.8-alphaversion 6.0.9version 6.0.9-betaversion 6.0.10version 6.0.11version 6.0.12version 6.0.13version 6.0.14version 6.0.15version 6.0.16version 6.0.17version 6.0.18version 6.0.19version 6.0.20version 6.0.24version 6.0.26version 6.0.27version 6.0.28version 6.0.29version 6.0.30version 6.0.31version 6.0.32version 6.0.33version 6.0.35version 7.0.0version 7.0.0-betaversion 7.0.1version 7.0.2version 7.0.2-betaversion 7.0.3version 7.0.4version 7.0.4-betaversion 7.0.5version 7.0.6version 7.0.7version 7.0.8version 7.0.9version 7.0.10version 7.0.11version 7.0.12version 7.0.13version 7.0.14version 7.0.15version 7.0.16version 7.0.17version 7.0.18version 7.0.19version 7.0.20version 7.0.21version 7.0.22version 7.0.23version 7.0.25version 7.0.28
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.0 CVSS 2.0 Medium 10.0 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-264 · Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 8.98%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 5.0
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2012
  • CVE published
    Nov 17, 2012 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

26 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Apache Software Foundation
every CVE for this vendor
Access control
same class
CWE-264
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-55956 Apache Tomcat: Security constraints for default servlet ignored method Jun 29, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55276 Apache Tomcat: Logged effective web.xml is incomplete Jun 29, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55955 Apache Tomcat: EncryptInterceptor not protected against replay attacks Jun 29, 2026
  • CVE-2026-55957 Apache Tomcat: Authentication bypass with JNDIRealm and GSSAPI authenticated bind Jun 29, 2026
  • CVE-2026-50229 Apache Tomcat: XSS in number guess example Jun 29, 2026
  • CVE-2026-53404 Apache Tomcat: Bad ornext processing in RewriteValve Jun 29, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2012-5885 is "Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in Apache Software Foundation Tomcat", rated Medium. It affects Tomcat (Apache Software Foundation); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 8.98% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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