Loading vulnerability…
CVE-2016-5425 is a local privilege-escalation flaw in distribution packaging of Apache Tomcat for Red Hat-based Linux systems, rather than in upstream Tomcat. A systemd-tmpfiles configuration installed by affected packages was group-writable by the Tomcat service group. An attacker operating with Tomcat-group privileges could add tmpfiles directives that systemd-tmpfiles subsequently processes with root privileges.
Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository contains a single Metasploit module (Ruby file) that exploits a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2016-5425) in Apache Tomcat installations on RedHat-based Linux systems. The exploit targets improper file permissions on /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf, allowing an attacker with local access to inject a cron job via systemd-tmpfiles, which is executed as root. The module uploads a payload (default: Meterpreter reverse shell) to a writable directory (default: /tmp), modifies tomcat.conf to create a cron job that runs the payload as root, and waits for systemd-tmpfiles to process the configuration, resulting in privilege escalation. The exploit is operational and requires the attacker to have a session on the target with sufficient permissions to write to the vulnerable files. The repository is structured as a standard Metasploit module and is intended for use within the Metasploit Framework.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
6 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Local privilege-escalation vulnerability caused by tomcat-group-writable systemd-tmpfiles configuration.
Apache Tomcat local privilege-escalation flaw caused by group-writable systemd-tmpfiles configuration.
An incorrect file-permissions vulnerability in Red Hat Tomcat packages. On RHEL 6 and earlier using classic init scripts, a user able to modify Tomcat configuration files could obtain root-level code execution when the Tomcat service was managed. RHEL 7 systemd handling did not directly permit privilege escalation from a Tomcat-user context.
A local privilege-escalation vulnerability in Red Hat Tomcat packaging caused by an improperly permissioned systemd-tmpfiles configuration file (/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/tomcat.conf) writable by the tomcat group. A local tomcat-group member or malicious Tomcat web application could leverage it to gain elevated privileges.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.