CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High Insecure deserialization exploit reference

CVE-2017-9805 — Apache Struts Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

The REST Plugin in Apache Struts 2.1.1 through 2.3.x before 2.3.34 and 2.5.x before 2.5.13 uses an XStreamHandler with an instance of XStream for deserialization without any type filtering, which can lead to Remote Code Execution when deserializing XML payloads.

Published Sep 15, 2017 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: apache

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

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

How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Public exploit/PoC (nuclei, metasploit, exploitdb)+20
  • EPSS 99.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (high)+6

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
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Nov 3, 2021
EPSS FIRST
99.4%
ahead of 100% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Apache Software Foundation
Struts and 7 more
CVSS base
8.1
High · 4 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
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

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

  • Documented patch — www.oracle.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented mitigation — cwiki.apache.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented mitigation — struts.apache.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-rest-plugin: fixed in version 2.5.13 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)
  • Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-rest-plugin: fixed in version 2.3.34 — github.com (GitHub Security Advisories)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: May 3, 2022 — passed 1626 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, Cisco Digital Media Manager, Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution…).
  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 (insecure deserialization), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Apache Software Foundation Struts ≥ 2.1.2 and < 2.3.34≥ 2.5.0 and < 2.5.13 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Apache Software Foundation Struts version Apache Struts before 2.3.34 and 2.5.x before 2.5.13 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Cisco Digital Media Manager versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution version 10.5(1)version 11.0(1)version 11.5(1)version 11.6(1) Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Cisco Media Experience Engine version 3.5version 3.5.2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Cisco Network Performance Analysis versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Cisco Video Distribution Suite For Internet Streaming versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Netapp Oncommand Balance versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Maven Org.apache.struts:struts2-rest-plugin ≥ 2.5.0 and < 2.5.13≥ 2.1.1 and < 2.3.34 Vulnerable GitHub Security Advisories

Attack characteristics

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

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

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

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High 2.2 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.1 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
8.1 CVSS 3.0 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
6.8 CVSS 2.0 Medium 8.6 6.4 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

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

Listed
Nov 3, 2021
Federal deadline
May 3, 2022
passed 1626 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

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.

Detection templates (Nuclei)
Metasploit modules

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 99.40%

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).
  • Monitor serialized objects in requests and unexpected processes spawned by the runtime.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Nov 3, 2021 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSendpoint telemetry (EDR)application logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
  • Affected products added · maven/org.apache.struts:struts2-rest-plugin
    Oct 13, 2026 · GitHub Security Advisories
  • Affected products added · apache software foundation/apache struts
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · apache/struts, cisco/digital media manager, cisco/hosted collaboration solution, cisco/media experience engine, cisco/ne
    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
  • 2021
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Nov 2, 2021 · CISA
  • 2017
  • CVE published
    Sep 15, 2017 · apache

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

21 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Apache Software Foundation
every CVE for this vendor
2021-11
what else CISA listed that month
CWE-502
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • High CVE-2026-104714 Apache Struts: Shared message formatter exposes date and time values across concurrent requests 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
  • Critical CVE-2026-104711 Apache Struts: OGNL injection in the legacy RESTful action mapper 10d
  • High CVE-2025-68493 Apache Struts, Apache Struts: XXE vulnerability in outdated XWork component Jan 11, 2026
  • High CVE-2025-66675 Apache Struts: File leak in multipart request processing causes disk exhaustion (DoS) - version ranges fixed Dec 10, 2025

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-2017-9805 is "Apache Struts Deserialization of Untrusted Data 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 99.40% 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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