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Spring FrameworkFramework / library · VMware

CVE-2023-20861

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.0.6 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In Spring Framework versions 6.0.0 - 6.0.6, 5.3.0 - 5.3.25, 5.2.0.RELEASE - 5.2.22.RELEASE, and older unsupported versions, it is possible for a user to provide a specially crafted SpEL expression that may cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition.

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

A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in Spring Framework's SpEL (Spring Expression Language) evaluation engine. By providing a specially crafted SpEL expression, an attacker can trigger excessive resource consumption leading to application unavailability. The vulnerability affects versions 6.0.0-6.0.6, 5.3.0-5.3.25, 5.2.0-5.2.22, and older unsupported releases.

MitigationUpgrade Spring Framework to version 6.0.7+, 5.3.26+, or 5.2.23+ as appropriate. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, avoid passing user-supplied input directly into SpEL expression evaluation.

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:<= 5.2.22>= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.25>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.6

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Locate Spring Framework JAR files
    Search the application deployment for spring-*.jar files (such as spring-core, spring-context, spring-expression) in lib directories, WEB-INF/lib, or within packaged archives. Note the version numbers in the filenames.
    Affected if Spring Framework JARs are present at versions 6.0.0-6.0.6, 5.3.0-5.3.25, 5.2.0-5.2.22, or older unsupported versions.
  2. Check build configuration for Spring dependency versions
    Review pom.xml, build.gradle, or similar build files for Spring Framework dependencies (spring-core, spring-beans, spring-context) and note the declared version.
    Affected if The declared Spring Framework version falls within 6.0.0 to 6.0.6, 5.3.0 to 5.3.25, 5.2.0 to 5.2.22, or is an older release.
  3. Inspect MANIFEST.MF files for Spring version metadata
    Open the MANIFEST.MF file inside Spring JARs (spring-core.jar/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF) and look for the Implementation-Version attribute.
    Affected if The Implementation-Version matches affected ranges listed above.
  4. Identify SpEL expression evaluation code
    Search source code for imports and usage of org.springframework.expression.* classes, particularly SpelExpressionParser, Expression, or @Value annotations that evaluate SpEL. Also search for references to 'T(...)' SpEL function calls.
    Affected if The application evaluates SpEL expressions, especially if user-controlled input is passed to the expression parser.

The environment is affected if Spring Framework is present at a version within 6.0.0-6.0.6, 5.3.0-5.3.25, 5.2.0-5.2.22, or older unsupported versions AND the application uses SpEL expression evaluation with external input.

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 a release after 6.0.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Spring Framework to version 6.0.7+, 5.3.26+, or 5.2.23+ as appropriate. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, avoid passing user-supplied input directly into SpEL expression evaluation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Spring Framework 5.2.23, 5.3.26, or 6.0.7 (stay within your current minor version line)

  1. Identify your current Spring Framework version by checking your project dependencies (e.g., pom.xml, build.gradle)
  2. For Spring Framework 5.2.x users: Upgrade to version 5.2.23 or later
  3. For Spring Framework 5.3.x users: Upgrade to version 5.3.26 or later
  4. For Spring Framework 6.0.x users: Upgrade to version 6.0.7 or later
  5. Update the Spring Framework dependency in your build configuration file
  6. Rebuild and test your application to ensure functionality is preserved
Caveat Patch releases within the same minor version (e.g., 5.3.25 to 5.3.26) typically contain only bug fixes and security patches with no expected breaking changes

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

Fix this in Spring Framework Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2023-20861 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data