CVE-2016-3081 — Apache Struts Command Injection Vulnerability

Triage

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

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.

Remediation

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

• Documented patch — www.oracle.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
• Documented patch — struts.apache.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
• Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-core: fixed in version 2.3.20.3 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)
• Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-core: fixed in version 2.3.28.1 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)
• Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-core: fixed in version 2.3.24.3 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)

CISA required action CISA

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

US federal deadline: Oct 11, 2026 — passed 4 day(s) ago

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 Struts, Huawei Agile Controller-campus Firmware, Huawei Anyoffice…).
2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
4. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
5. EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
6. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (injection), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

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

Every base score collected

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

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-77 · Command Injection

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 96.05%

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).
• Look for parameters with command/query metacharacters and unexpected child processes of the service.
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before Oct 8, 2026 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
• Affected products added · maven/org.apache.struts:struts2-core
  Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Affected products added · huawei/agile controller-campus firmware, huawei/anyoffice, huawei/logcenter, huawei/firehunter6000 firmware, huawei/ocea
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• CVSS changed · 8.1
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  Oct 7, 2026 · CISA
• 2016
• CVE published
  Apr 26, 2016 · redhat

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

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

References

17 on the record

• struts.apache.org/docs/s2-032.html
  Patch, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2016-2881720.html
  Patch, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/91787
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• web.archive.org/web/20210123152457/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91787
  GitHub Security Advisories
• web.archive.org/web/20210225192113/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/87327
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/linux/http/struts_dmi_exec
  Third Party Advisory, Broken Link, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/87327
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_exec
  Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3081
  GitHub Security Advisories
• web.archive.org/web/20210226011418/http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035665
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2016-2881722.html
  Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39756/
  Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-8c6j-ffmf-q6vm
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.securitytracker.com/id/1035665
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_SECTRACK, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.huawei.com/en/psirt/security-advisories/huawei-sa-20160527-01-struts2-en
  Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/136856/Apache-Struts-2.3.28-Dynamic-Method-Invocation-Remote-Co
  Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2026-104714 Apache Struts: Shared message formatter exposes date and time values across concurrent requests 10d
• Critical CVE-2026-104711 Apache Struts: OGNL injection in the legacy RESTful action mapper 10d
• High CVE-2026-104712 Apache Struts: Disproportionate response size when rendering BigDecimal request parameters 10d
• Medium CVE-2026-104713 Apache Struts: Unbounded request body read in the REST plugin 10d
• Medium CVE-2026-73632 Apache Struts: Shared serialization state in the JSON plugin Aug 15, 2026
• High CVE-2026-73635 Apache Struts: Unbounded growth of localized-text caches driven by the request locale Aug 15, 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 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-2016-3081 is "Apache Struts Command Injection Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Struts (Apache Software Foundation); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 8.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 96.05% 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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