CVE-2016-5018
CRITICALEPSS 95th pctlDescription
In Apache Tomcat 9.0.0.M1 to 9.0.0.M9, 8.5.0 to 8.5.4, 8.0.0.RC1 to 8.0.36, 7.0.0 to 7.0.70 and 6.0.0 to 6.0.45 a malicious web application was able to bypass a configured SecurityManager via a Tomcat utility method that was accessible to web applications.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 95% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other vulnerabilities affecting libservlet2.5-java, ordered by exploit likelihood.
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2016-8735 | Critical | 9.8 | 90% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2016-6816 | High | 7.1 | 40% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-1240 | High | 7.8 | 9.8% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-6796 | High | 7.5 | 8.3% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-6797 | High | 7.5 | 8.1% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-0762 | Medium | 5.9 | 8.0% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2016-5018?
Published advisories record a fix for 6 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2016-5018 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2016-5018 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 10.3% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 95% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2016-5018?
CVE-2016-5018 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.1, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2016-5018 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for libservlet2.5-java (Ubuntu), libtomcat7-java (Ubuntu), libtomcat8-java (Ubuntu), tomcat6 (Ubuntu), and 2 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-05-13.