Text4Shell - Validate Detection and Protection now with Cymulate

Maintained by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), Apache is by far the most widely deployed web server in the world. A quick Shodan lookup, current as of this article’s publication date, reveals over 25 million Internet-accessible Apache instances globally. Given this scale, the discovery of a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Apache Commons Text library, dubbed Text4Shell, should raise significant concern across the cybersecurity community.

The Text4Shell vulnerability, identified and disclosed by cybersecurity researcher Alvaro Muñoz, is officially tracked as CVE-2022-42889. It carries a critical CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, highlighting its severity. This vulnerability affects Apache Commons Text versions 1.5 through 1.9, with only the latest version 1.10 confirmed to be secure. The issue resides in the library’s variable interpolation functionality, specifically involving the “script,” “DNS,” and “URL” lookup mechanisms, which can be exploited by attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution.

Despite the severity of the threat, the Apache Software Foundation has not provided a workaround for the vulnerable versions. Instead, it strongly recommends upgrading to Apache Commons Text 1.10 as the only remediation.

How Cymulate Helps You Detect and Mitigate Text4Shell Exposure

To help organizations address this risk proactively, Cymulate has developed an Advanced Scenario that enables customers to identify Apache instances in their environments and validate whether they are exposed to Text4Shell.

If you’re not currently a Cymulate customer, our security validation experts are available to guide you through the testing process and help you assess your risk exposure.

Book a demo today to test your defenses against Text4Shell and stay ahead of emerging threats.