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Spring FrameworkFramework / library · VMware

CVE-2018-1199

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.5 / 4.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Spring Security (Spring Security 4.1.x before 4.1.5, 4.2.x before 4.2.4, and 5.0.x before 5.0.1; and Spring Framework 4.3.x before 4.3.14 and 5.0.x before 5.0.3) does not consider URL path parameters when processing security constraints. By adding a URL path parameter with special encodings, an attacker may be able to bypass a security constraint. The root cause of this issue is a lack of clarity regarding the handling of path parameters in the Servlet Specification. Some Servlet containers include path parameters in the value returned for getPathInfo() and some do not. Spring Security uses the value returned by getPathInfo() as part of the process of mapping requests to security constraints. In this particular attack, different character encodings used in path parameters allows secured Spring MVC static resource URLs to be bypassed.

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 confidence

Spring Security fails to properly process URL path parameters when evaluating security constraints, allowing attackers to bypass authentication/authorization on Spring MVC static resources by appending specially encoded path parameters. The vulnerability stems from inconsistent handling of getPathInfo() across servlet containers.

MitigationUpgrade Spring Security to 4.1.5+, 4.2.4+, or 5.0.1+ (and Spring Framework to 4.3.14+ or 5.0.3+) to patch the path parameter handling vulnerability.

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
Affected:>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.14>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.3
Spring SecurityFramework / library
Affected:>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.5>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.4>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.1
FuseApplication
Affected:= 1.0
Rapid PlanningApplication
Affected:= 12.1= 12.2
Retail Xstore Point Of ServiceApplication
Affected:= 7.1

CVSS 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
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Spring Framework version
    Examine the spring-core or spring-web JAR file in your deployment (typically in WEB-INF/lib/ or build output). Check the MANIFEST.MF file inside the JAR for the Implementation-Version attribute, or inspect your dependency management file (pom.xml, build.gradle) for the spring-framework version declaration.
    Affected if The version is 4.3.0 through 4.3.13, or 5.0.0 through 5.0.2
  2. Identify Spring Security version
    Examine the spring-security-core or spring-security-web JAR file in your deployment. Check the MANIFEST.MF for Implementation-Version, or review your dependency management file for the spring-security version.
    Affected if The version is 4.1.0 through 4.1.4, 4.2.0 through 4.2.3, or 5.0.0
  3. Confirm Spring Security is protecting MVC resources
    Review your Spring Security configuration (XML config such as spring-security.xml, or Java config with @EnableWebSecurity/@EnableWebMvcSecurity annotations). Look for <intercept-url> elements or SecurityFilterChain bean definitions that specify access attributes for URL patterns.
    Affected if Security constraints are defined using URL patterns (such as <intercept-url pattern="/resources/**" access="...">) to protect static resources or specific paths.

You are affected if your deployment uses a version of Spring Framework (4.3.x before 4.3.14, or 5.0.x before 5.0.3) OR Spring Security (4.1.x before 4.1.5, 4.2.x before 4.2.4, or 5.0.0) AND you have URL-based security constraints configured to protect Spring MVC resources or static content.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.1.5 / 4.2.4 / 4.3.14 or later
Fixed in 4.1.54.2.44.3.14
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Spring Security to 4.1.5+, 4.2.4+, or 5.0.1+ (and Spring Framework to 4.3.14+ or 5.0.3+) to patch the path parameter handling vulnerability.

Fix this in Spring Framework Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1199 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data