Coverage › CVE-2018-11776

CVE-2018-11776 Mapped Sigma

Apache Struts Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor / product

Apache — Struts

Description (CISA)

Apache Struts contains a vulnerability that allows for remote code execution under two circumstances. One, where the alwaysSelectFullNamespace option is true and the value isn't set for a result defined in underlying configurations and in same time, its upper package configuration have no or wildcard namespace. Or, using URL tag which doesn't have value and action set and in same time, its upper package configuration have no or wildcard namespace.

Added to KEV

2021-11-03

Due date

2022-05-03

Required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Known ransomware use

Unknown

CWE

CWE-20

CISA notes

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11776

Elsewhere

cve.org · NVD · CISA KEV · JSON

ATT&CK techniques · CTID Mappings Explorer, ATT&CK 16.1, KEV snapshot 2025-07-28

3 mapping objects across 3 techniques. exploitation technique states how the vulnerability is exploited; primary and secondary impact state what exploitation achieves. They are different claims and are labelled as such.

Detection chain · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2 detection strategies, analytics, log sources

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter primary impact

• DET0516 Behavioral Detection of Command and Scripting Interpreter Abuse
  AN1428 Windows

  Detects the execution of scripting or command interpreters (e.g., powershell.exe, cmd.exe, wscript.exe) outside expected administrative time windows or from abnormal user contexts, often followed by encoded/obfuscated arguments or secondary execution events.

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: CommandLinePattern ParentProcessName TimeWindow
  AN1429 Linux

  Detects use of shell interpreters (e.g., bash, sh, python, perl) initiated by users or processes not normally executing them, especially when chaining suspicious utilities like netcat, curl, or ssh.

  auditd:SYSCALL execve → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: InterpreterName UserContext ExecutionChainLength
  AN1430 macOS

  Detects launch of command-line interpreters via Terminal, Automator, or hidden osascript, especially when parent process lineage deviates from user-initiated applications.

  macos:unifiedlog log stream --info --predicate 'eventMessage CONTAINS "exec"' → DC0032 Process Creation

  Tunable: LaunchAgentName ScriptName TerminalAppUsage
  AN1431 ESXi

  Detects use of 'esxcli system' or direct interpreter commands (e.g., busybox shell) invoked from SSH or host terminal unexpectedly.

  esxi:vobd shell session start → DC0064 Command Execution

  Tunable: ShellEnabledFlag SSHContext
  AN1432 Network Devices

  Identifies CLI interpreter access (e.g., Cisco IOS, Juniper JUNOS) via enable mode or scripting-capable sessions used by uncommon accounts or from unknown IPs.

  networkdevice:cli shell command → DC0064 Command Execution

  networkdevice:syslog authentication & authorization → DC0002 User Account Authentication

  Tunable: UserRole DeviceType

Sigma rules tagged attack.t1059 (95)

All 95 rules on the technique page →

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application exploitation technique

• DET0080 Exploit Public-Facing Application – multi-signal correlation (request → error → post-exploit process/egress)
  AN0219 Windows

  Adversary sends crafted HTTP/S (or other service) input to an Internet-facing app (IIS/ASP.NET, API, device portal). Chain: (1) abnormal request patterns to public endpoint → (2) elevated 4xx/5xx or unusual methods/paths → (3) server process (w3wp.exe/other service) spawns shell/LOLbins or loads non-standard modules → (4) optional outbound callback from the host/container.

  ApplicationLog:IIS IIS W3C logs in C:\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\W3SVC* (spikes in 5xx, RCE/SQLi/path traversal/JNDI patterns) → DC0038 Application Log Content

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 → DC0032 Process Creation

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=7 → DC0016 Module Load

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=3, 22 → DC0082 Network Connection Creation

  Tunable: PublicVIPs SuspiciousPatterns ErrorRateThreshold TimeWindow AllowedChildList
  AN0220 Linux

  Adversary exploits Apache/Nginx/app servers. Chain: (1) suspicious requests in access logs → (2) spike of 5xx or WAF blocks → (3) web server or interpreter (apache2/nginx/php-fpm/node/python) spawns /bin/sh, curl, wget, socat, or writes webshell → (4) outbound callback.

  ApplicationLog:WebServer /var/log/httpd/access_log, /var/log/apache2/access.log, /var/log/nginx/access.log with exploit indicators and burst errors → DC0038 Application Log Content

  auditd:SYSCALL execve → DC0032 Process Creation

  NSM:Flow HTTP payloads with SQLi/LFI/JNDI/deserialization indicators → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: WebProcList ChildToolList BurstThreshold TimeWindow
  AN0221 macOS

  Adversary targets macOS-hosted public services (e.g., nginx, node). Chain: suspicious inbound request → service crash/5xx → service spawns shell or writes file → new outbound connection.

  macos:unifiedlog App/web server logs ingested via unified logging or filebeat (nginx/apache/node). → DC0038 Application Log Content

  macos:unifiedlog exec events where web process starts a shell/tooling → DC0032 Process Creation

  NSM:Flow outbound egress from web host after suspicious request → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: ServiceList TimeWindow
  AN0222 Containers

  Adversary exploits containerized app via ingress or service. Chain: (1) suspicious request in ingress/app logs → (2) container process spawns a shell/exec/sidecar (kubectl exec/docker exec) → (3) egress to Internet or metadata service (169.254.169.254).

  ApplicationLog:Ingress Kubernetes NGINX/Envoy ingress controller logs with anomalous payloads and 5xx spikes → DC0038 Application Log Content

  docker:events Docker/Kubernetes audit of exec/attach (kubectl exec) or unexpected child processes inside container → DC0032 Process Creation

  NSM:Flow Requests towards cloud metadata or command & control from pod IPs → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: IngressNamespaces MetadataEndpoints TimeWindow
  AN0223 IaaS

  Adversary targets cloud-hosted public endpoints. Chain: (1) ALB/ELB/Cloud LB logs show exploit-like inputs or error spikes → (2) workload spawns shell or reaches metadata API → (3) egress to new external hosts.

  ALB:HTTPLogs AWS ALB/ELB/GCP/Azure Application Gateway HTTP logs with unusual methods, long URIs, serialized payloads, 4xx/5xx bursts → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  AWS:VPCFlowLogs VPC/NSG flow logs for pod/instance egress to Internet or metadata → DC0078 Network Traffic Flow

  Tunable: LBProjects ErrorBurst
  AN0224 ESXi

  Adversary exploits exposed OpenSLP on ESXi or vCenter public endpoints. Chain: inbound request pattern to mgmt service → hostd/vpxd error/crash/restart → unexpected process behavior or datastore access → outbound callback.

  esxi:hostd /var/log/hostd.log anomalies (faults, crashes, restarts) around inbound connections → DC0038 Application Log Content

  NSM:Flow Connections to TCP 427 (SLP) or vCenter web services from untrusted sources → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: MgmtCIDR TimeWindow
  AN0225 Network Devices

  Adversary exploits public admin services on routers/firewalls/switches. Chain: anomalous HTTP/SNMP/SmartInstall inputs → device syslog errors/restarts → config changes/CLI spawn → egress to attacker C2.

  networkdevice:controlplane Syslog from edge devices with HTTP 500s on mgmt portal, SmartInstall events, unexpected CLI commands → DC0038 Application Log Content

  NSM:Flow NetFlow/sFlow for odd egress to Internet from mgmt plane → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: MgmtPorts TrustedAdmins

Sigma rules tagged attack.t1190 (149)

All 149 rules on the technique page →

T1496 Resource Hijacking secondary impact

• DET0267 Resource Hijacking Detection Strategy
  AN0741 Windows

  Persistent high CPU utilization combined with suspicious command-line execution (e.g., mining tools or obfuscated scripts) and outbound connections to mining/proxy networks.

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1 → DC0032 Process Creation

  Windows:perfmon High sustained CPU usage by a single process → DC0018 Host Status

  WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=3, 22 → DC0082 Network Connection Creation

  Tunable: TimeWindow DestinationIPList ExecutableNamePatterns
  AN0742 Linux

  Abnormal CPU/memory usage by unauthorized processes with outbound connections to known mining pools or using cron jobs/scripts to maintain persistence.

  auditd:SYSCALL execve → DC0032 Process Creation

  linux:procfs Sustained high /proc/[pid]/stat usage → DC0018 Host Status

  NSM:Flow Outbound traffic to mining pools or proxies → DC0078 Network Traffic Flow

  Tunable: ProcessPath CPUThreshold KnownMiningDomains
  AN0743 macOS

  Background launch agents/daemons with high CPU use and network access to external mining services.

  macos:unifiedlog launchctl activity and process creation → DC0032 Process Creation

  macos:unifiedlog Persistent outbound traffic to mining domains → DC0085 Network Traffic Content

  Tunable: launchdLabel TrafficVolumeThreshold
  AN0744 IaaS

  Sudden spikes in cloud VM CPU usage with outbound traffic to mining pools and unauthorized instance creation.

  AWS:CloudTrail RunInstances → DC0080 Instance Start

  AWS:CloudWatch Sustained EC2 CPU usage above normal baseline → DC0018 Host Status

  AWS:VPCFlowLogs Outbound flow logs to known mining pools → DC0078 Network Traffic Flow

  Tunable: CPUUtilizationThreshold UnusualRegionList
  AN0745 Containers

  High CPU usage by unauthorized containers running mining binaries or public proxy tools.

  containerd:events New container with suspicious image name or high resource usage → DC0032 Process Creation

  prometheus:metrics Container CPU/Memory usage exceeding threshold → DC0018 Host Status

  container:cni Outbound network traffic to mining proxies → DC0078 Network Traffic Flow

  Tunable: ImageName CPUQuotaThreshold
  AN0746 SaaS

  Abuse of cloud messaging platforms to send mass spam or consume quota-based resources.

  m365:unified SendMessage → DC0069 Cloud Service Modification

  saas:application High-volume API calls or traffic via messaging or webhook service → DC0038 Application Log Content

  Tunable: MessageRateThreshold APIKeyList

Sigma rules tagged attack.t1496 (13)