CVE-2014-3578
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in Pivotal Spring Framework 3.x before 3.2.9 and 4.0 before 4.0.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a crafted URL.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerability in Pivotal Spring Framework 3.x before 3.2.9 and 4.x before 4.0.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via crafted URLs containing '..' sequences to escape the intended directory boundaries.
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>= 3.2.0, < 3.2.9>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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 the Spring Framework version in useLocate the Spring Framework JAR files in your application classpath, check your build configuration (pom.xml, build.gradle), or inspect the manifest file within the spring-core JAR. The version is typically listed as a dependency with a numeric version string.Affected if The installed version falls within 3.2.0 to 3.2.8, or 4.0.0 to 4.0.4.
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Confirm static resource handlers are configuredReview your Spring MVC configuration files (such as XML configuration files or Java-based @Configuration classes) for <mvc:resources> elements or ResourceHandlerRegistry registrations. These define URL patterns mapped to filesystem directories.Affected if Static resource handlers are mapped to directories accessible via web URLs.
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Check the resource handler mapping for traversal exposureExamine the 'location' attribute in your resource handler configuration. Determine whether it points to sensitive directories such as the application root, classpath, or any directory outside the intended static assets folder.Affected if The resource handler location attribute allows access to directories above the intended static content root, or maps to the root filesystem.
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Verify URL pattern accessibilityInspect the 'mapping' attribute of configured resource handlers to confirm the URL patterns are publicly accessible without authentication filters.Affected if Resource handler URL patterns are not protected by security filters and are exposed to unauthenticated users.
Your environment is affected if you are running Spring Framework versions 3.2.0-3.2.8 or 4.0.0-4.0.4 with publicly accessible static resource handlers that map to sensitive directories.
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 data3.2.94.0.5
Upgrade Spring Framework to version 3.2.9+, 4.0.5+, or later. Additionally, implement strict input validation on all file path parameters to reject sequences like '../' and configure static resource handlers to restrict access to allowed directories only.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 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 $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-3578 — 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-2014-3578 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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