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Spring Cloud NetflixFramework / library · VMware

CVE-2021-22053

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.10 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
Applications using both `spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard` and `spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf` expose a way to execute code submitted within the request URI path during the resolution of view templates. When a request is made at `/hystrix/monitor;[user-provided data]`, the path elements following `hystrix/monitor` are being evaluated as SpringEL expressions, which can lead to code execution.

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

This is a Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability where the Hystrix Dashboard endpoint `/hystrix/monitor` evaluates path segments after the monitor path as SpringEL expressions when both hystrix-dashboard and thymeleaf dependencies are present, allowing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard to the patched version (2.2.10.RELEASE or later) that properly escapes path parameters, or remove the thymeleaf dependency if not required for the application.

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 Cloud NetflixFramework / library
Affected:>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.10

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Cloud Netflix version
    Check your project's pom.xml or build.gradle for the spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard version, or run: mvn dependency:tree | grep spring-cloud-netflix
    Affected if Version is between 2.2.0 and 2.2.9 (inclusive)
  2. Verify hystrix-dashboard dependency is present
    Check pom.xml/build.gradle for spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard or spring-boot-starter-hystrix dependency
    Affected if The hystrix-dashboard dependency is included in the build
  3. Verify thymeleaf dependency is present
    Check pom.xml/build.gradle for spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf or thymeleaf dependency
    Affected if The thymeleaf dependency is included in the build
  4. Confirm /hystrix/monitor endpoint exposure
    Check application configuration (application.yml/properties) for hystrix.stream.path or any custom path mappings for Hystrix Dashboard, then attempt a GET request to /hystrix/monitor
    Affected if The endpoint is accessible and returns a 200 response
  5. Check for vulnerable URL pattern access
    Send a request to /hystrix/monitor/{expression} - for example: curl http://localhost:8080/hystrix/monitor/T(java.lang.Runtime).getRuntime().exec('id')
    Affected if The application evaluates the path segment as a SpringEL expression (visible in error output or unexpected behavior)

You are affected if your Spring Cloud Netflix version is between 2.2.0 and 2.2.9 AND both hystrix-dashboard and thymeleaf dependencies are present, with the /hystrix/monitor endpoint accessible.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.2.10 or later
Fixed in 2.2.10
Interim mitigation

Update spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard to the patched version (2.2.10.RELEASE or later) that properly escapes path parameters, or remove the thymeleaf dependency if not required for the application.

Recommended fix High confidence

Spring Cloud Netflix version 2.2.10 or later

  1. 1. Upgrade Spring Cloud Netflix dependency to version 2.2.10 or later in your project's pom.xml or build.gradle file
  2. 2. If using Maven, update the spring-cloud-dependencies version or the specific spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard artifact version
  3. 3. Rebuild and redeploy the application
  4. 4. Verify the application starts successfully and test the /hystrix/monitor endpoint to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
  5. 5. Alternatively, if the Hystrix Dashboard functionality is not required, remove the spring-cloud-netflix-hystrix-dashboard dependency entirely
Caveat Review the Spring Cloud Netflix 2.2.10 release notes for any breaking changes or deprecations relevant to your application

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Spring Cloud Netflix Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2021-22053 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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