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Spring SecurityFramework / library · VMware

CVE-2023-34034

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.6.12 / 5.7.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Using "**" as a pattern in Spring Security configuration for WebFlux creates a mismatch in pattern matching between Spring Security and Spring WebFlux, and the potential for a security bypass.

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 · moderate confidence

Using '**' as a URL pattern in Spring Security configuration for WebFlux applications creates a mismatch in pattern matching logic between Spring Security and Spring WebFlux, potentially allowing attackers to bypass security controls and access protected resources they should not reach.

MitigationReview all Spring Security WebFlux configuration for '**' wildcard patterns and replace with explicit patterns or use Spring Security's WebFilter with proper pattern matching; update to patched Spring Security versions if available.

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 SecurityFramework / library
Affected:>= 5.6.0, < 5.6.12>= 5.7.0, < 5.7.10>= 5.8.0, < 5.8.5>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.5>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.2

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Spring Security version in your build file
    Inspect your pom.xml, build.gradle, or similar build configuration file for the spring-security-version or spring-security-bom version
    Affected if The Spring Security version falls within these ranges: >= 5.6.0 and < 5.6.12; >= 5.7.0 and < 5.7.10; >= 5.8.0 and < 5.8.5; >= 6.0.0 and < 6.0.5; or >= 6.1.0 and < 6.1.2
  2. Verify WebFlux dependency is present
    Check your build configuration for the spring-boot-starter-webflux or spring-webflux dependency
    Affected if Your application includes the WebFlux reactive web framework dependency
  3. Identify WebFlux Security configuration
    Look for a @Bean of type SecurityWebFilterChain in your configuration files, typically in a class annotated with @Configuration and containing WebFlux-specific security setup
    Affected if Your application defines a custom SecurityWebFilterChain bean for WebFlux security
  4. Search for double-wildcard URL patterns
    Search your SecurityWebFilterChain configuration for .pathMatchers("**") or similar patterns using double asterisks, or .antMatchers("**") if using the Ant-based configuration
    Affected if Your WebFlux security configuration contains '**' as a URL pattern in pathMatchers or antMatchers calls that grant access to resources

You are affected if your application uses a vulnerable Spring Security version, includes WebFlux, and has a SecurityWebFilterChain configuration containing '**' wildcard URL patterns.

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 5.6.12 / 5.7.10 / 5.8.5 or later
Fixed in 5.6.125.7.105.8.5
Interim mitigation

Review all Spring Security WebFlux configuration for '**' wildcard patterns and replace with explicit patterns or use Spring Security's WebFilter with proper pattern matching; update to patched Spring Security versions if available.

Recommended fix High confidence

5.6.12 (if on 5.6.x) | 5.7.10 (if on 5.7.x) | 5.8.5 (if on 5.8.x) | 6.0.5 (if on 6.0.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current Spring Security version in your project by checking build.gradle, pom.xml, or equivalent dependency file
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are currently on (5.6.x, 5.7.x, 5.8.x, or 6.0.x)
  3. 3. Upgrade Spring Security to the patched version for your branch: 5.6.12, 5.7.10, 5.8.5, or 6.0.5
  4. 4. Rebuild and test your application to verify the security configuration works correctly
  5. 5. Review any use of '**' patterns in your Spring Security WebFlux configuration and ensure they are correctly interpreted after the fix
Caveat Minimal risk; the fix corrects pattern matching behavior. However, verify that existing security path patterns still function as intended after upgrading.

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

Fix this in Spring Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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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-2023-34034 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