dbcve.org
Spring SecurityFramework / library · VMware

CVE-2024-22234

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.7 / 6.2.2 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
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
In Spring Security, versions 6.1.x prior to 6.1.7 and versions 6.2.x prior to 6.2.2, an application is vulnerable to broken access control when it directly uses the AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated(Authentication) method. Specifically, an application is vulnerable if: * The application uses AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated(Authentication) directly and a null authentication parameter is passed to it resulting in an erroneous true return value. An application is not vulnerable if any of the following is true: * The application does not use AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated(Authentication) directly. * The application does not pass null to AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated * The application only uses isFullyAuthenticated via Method Security https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/servlet/authorization/method-security.html  or HTTP Request Security https://docs.spring.io/spring-security/reference/servlet/authorization/authorize-http-requests.html

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's AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated(Authentication) method incorrectly returns true when passed a null authentication parameter, causing broken access control where unauthenticated requests are treated as fully authenticated. This vulnerability only affects applications that directly call this method and pass null to it; applications using Spring Security's built-in method security or HTTP request security are not vulnerable.

MitigationUpgrade Spring Security to version 6.1.7 or 6.2.2 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, ensure null authentication objects are not passed to AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated().

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:>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.7>= 6.2.0, < 6.2.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Check Spring Security version
    Inspect your project dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or the spring-security-core JAR manifest) to identify the installed Spring Security version.
    Affected if The version is 6.1.0 through 6.1.6, or 6.2.0 through 6.2.1.
  2. Identify AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated usage
    Search your codebase for any direct calls to AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated(Authentication) method, including custom implementations or direct invocations on the AuthenticationTrustResolver interface.
    Affected if Direct calls to this method exist in your codebase.
  3. Trace null authentication sources
    Review the code paths that feed into the isFullyAuthenticated() call to determine whether null Authentication objects can be passed as the argument (for example, from custom authentication filters, handlers, or interceptors that may return null on failure).
    Affected if Null authentication objects can reach the isFullyAuthenticated() method.
  4. Verify if built-in security is used
    Confirm whether your application relies solely on Spring Security's standard method security (@PreAuthorize, @Secured) or HTTP security (Spring Security filter chain) for access control, without any custom code invoking the affected method.
    Affected if Custom code directly invokes isFullyAuthenticated() and null can be passed to it.

You are affected only if your Spring Security version is within the vulnerable range AND your application has custom code that directly calls AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated() and can pass null to it.

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 6.1.7 / 6.2.2 or later
Fixed in 6.1.76.2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Spring Security to version 6.1.7 or 6.2.2 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, ensure null authentication objects are not passed to AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated().

Recommended fix High confidence

Spring Security 6.1.7 or 6.2.2

  1. Identify the current Spring Security version in your project (check pom.xml, build.gradle, or dependency management files)
  2. Upgrade Spring Security to version 6.1.7 if using 6.1.x, or to version 6.2.2 if using 6.2.x (or a later version if available)
  3. After upgrading, test your application's authentication and authorization flows to verify the fix works correctly
  4. Alternatively, if direct use of AuthenticationTrustResolver.isFullyAuthenticated() with null values is not required, refactor code to use Method Security or HTTP Request Security instead
Caveat Review Spring Security 6.1.7 and 6.2.2 release notes for any other changes that may affect your application

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

Fix this in Spring Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2024-22234 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