CVE-2013-2115

A vulnerability introduced by forcing parameter inclusion in the URL and Anchor Tag allows remote command execution, session access and manipulation and XSS attacks.

both the s:url and s:a tag provide an includeParams attribute.

The main scope of that attribute is to understand whether includes http request parameter or not.

The allowed values of includeParams are:

none - include no parameters in the URL (default)
get - include only GET parameters in the URL
all - include both GET and POST parameters in the URL

A request that included a specially crafted request parameter could be used to inject arbitrary OGNL code into the stack, afterward used as request parameter of an URL or A tag , which will cause a further evaluation.

The second evaluation happens when the URL/A tag tries to resolve every parameters present in the original request.
This lets malicious users put arbitrary OGNL statements into any request parameter (not necessarily managed by the code) and have it evaluated as an OGNL expression to enable method execution and execute arbitrary methods, bypassing Struts and OGNL library protections.

The issue was originally addressed by Struts 2.3.14.1 and Security Announcement S2-013. However, the solution introduced with 2.3.14.1 did not address all possible attack vectors, such that every version of Struts 2 before 2.3.14.2 is still vulnerable to such attacks.

Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.

CVE-2013-2115 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.3.14.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2013-2115? CVE-2013-2115 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in org.apache.struts:struts2-core (maven), affecting versions >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.14.2. It is fixed in 2.3.14.2. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
2. How severe is CVE-2013-2115? CVE-2013-2115 has a CVSS score of 8.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2013-2115?
   • org.apache.struts:struts2-core (maven) (versions >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.14.2)
   • org.apache.struts.xwork:xwork-core (maven) (versions >= 2.0.0, < 2.3.14.2)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2013-2115? Yes. CVE-2013-2115 is fixed in 2.3.14.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2013-2115 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2013-2115 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2013-2115 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2013-2115?
   • Upgrade org.apache.struts:struts2-core to 2.3.14.2 or later
   • Upgrade org.apache.struts.xwork:xwork-core to 2.3.14.2 or later