Spring FrameworkFramework / library · VMware
CVE-2016-9878
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Pivotal Spring Framework before 3.2.18, 4.2.x before 4.2.9, and 4.3.x before 4.3.5. Paths provided to the ResourceServlet were not properly sanitized and as a result exposed to directory traversal attacks.
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 confidenceThe Spring Framework's ResourceServlet contains a path traversal vulnerability where insufficient input sanitization on file paths allows attackers to access files and directories outside the intended web root through specially crafted directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../).
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
= 3.2.1= 3.2.2= 3.2.3= 3.2.4= 3.2.5= 3.2.6= 3.2.7= 3.2.8= 3.2.9= 3.2.10= 3.2.11= 3.2.12<= 3.2.0= 4.2.0= 4.3.0CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 Spring Framework presenceSearch for Spring Framework JAR files in your application classpath (e.g., spring-web-*.jar, spring-core-*.jar) or check your build dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle) for springframework dependencies.Affected if Spring Framework is present in your application
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Determine installed Spring Framework versionCheck the spring-core or spring-web JAR file name for the version number, or inspect the MANIFEST.MF file inside the JAR for Implementation-Version, or look at your dependency management for the spring-framework version.Affected if Version is 3.2.1 through 3.2.12, or exactly 3.2.0 or earlier for Pivotal, or exactly 4.2.0 or 4.3.0
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Verify ResourceServlet is enabledCheck your web.xml for <servlet-name>ResourceServlet</servlet-name> or a servlet mapping to org.springframework.web.servlet.ResourceServlet, or look for @EnableResourceServlet annotation in your Java configuration, or check for ResourceHandlerRegistry configuration in WebMvcConfigurer.Affected if ResourceServlet or resource handling is configured and enabled in your web application
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Confirm resource URL mapping is accessibleInspect your servlet mappings to determine which URL patterns are mapped to ResourceServlet (commonly /resources/* or /static/*), then verify these endpoints are accessible without authentication in your application security configuration.Affected if ResourceServlet handles unauthenticated or externally accessible URLs for static resources
You are affected if your application runs a Spring Framework version in the 3.2.1-3.2.12, 3.2.0-or-earlier Pivotal, 4.2.0, or 4.3.0 ranges AND has ResourceServlet enabled and accessible to handle resource requests.
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 Spring Framework to version 3.2.18+, 4.2.9+, or 4.3.5+ which contains proper path sanitization in the ResourceServlet.
Fix this in Spring Framework
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,712.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9878 — 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-2016-9878 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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