Spring FrameworkFramework / library · VMware
CVE-2011-2894
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSpring Framework 3.0.0 through 3.0.5, Spring Security 3.0.0 through 3.0.5 and 2.0.0 through 2.0.6, and possibly other versions deserialize objects from untrusted sources, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended security restrictions and execute untrusted code by (1) serializing a java.lang.Proxy instance and using InvocationHandler, or (2) accessing internal AOP interfaces, as demonstrated using deserialization of a DefaultListableBeanFactory instance to execute arbitrary commands via the java.lang.Runtime class.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceSpring Framework and Spring Security versions 3.0.0-3.0.5 and 3.0.0-3.0.5/2.0.0-2.0.6 respectively have unsafe deserialization that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by submitting specially crafted serialized Java objects (Proxy instances with custom InvocationHandler or DefaultListableBeanFactory) that abuse reflection and AOP internals to invoke java.lang.Runtime execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Spring FrameworkFramework / library
>= 3.0.0, <= 3.0.5
Spring SecurityFramework / library
>= 2.0.0, <= 2.0.6CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Spring Framework versionCheck your project's dependency management file (pom.xml for Maven, build.gradle for Gradle) or the JAR file metadata in the lib directory. Look for spring-core or spring JAR files and note the version number.Affected if The installed version is 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3, 3.0.4, or 3.0.5.
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Identify Spring Security versionCheck your project's dependency management file or the lib directory for spring-security-core JAR files. Note the version number.Affected if The installed version is 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 2.0.5, or 2.0.6.
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Check for deserialization of untrusted dataSearch your codebase for usage of Java deserialization APIs that process data from external sources. Look for: ObjectInputStream, readObject() calls, and any configuration that accepts serialized Java objects over network protocols (HTTP, RMI, JMX, etc.).Affected if The application deserializes Java objects received from network endpoints, file uploads, or message queues without validation.
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Inspect Spring bean configurationReview your Spring configuration files (XML beans, @Configuration classes) for bean definitions that could be exploited via DefaultListableBeanFactory deserialization. Look for any custom serializer configurations or ref-type bean references.Affected if Custom bean factories or serializers are configured that could accept malicious serialized payloads.
You are affected if you run Spring Framework 3.0.0-3.0.5 or Spring Security 2.0.0-2.0.6 AND your application deserializes Java objects from untrusted sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to Spring Framework 3.0.6+, Spring Security 3.0.7+/2.0.7+, or later patched versions. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, audit and disable deserialization of untrusted data or implement strict whitelist validation of deserialized classes.
Fix this in Spring Framework
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-2894 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-2894 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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