Spring FrameworkFramework / library · VMware
CVE-2026-41851
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 · uneditedApplications which accept user-supplied Spring Expression Language (SpEL) expressions may be vulnerable to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack if the evaluation of a SpEL expression triggers unbounded cache growth. Affected versions: Spring Framework 7.0.0 through 7.0.7; 6.2.0 through 6.2.18; 6.1.0 through 6.1.27; 5.3.0 through 5.3.48.
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 confidenceApplications using Spring Framework that accept user-supplied SpEL expressions are vulnerable to a DoS attack. The vulnerability stems from unbounded cache growth when certain SpEL expressions are evaluated, potentially causing memory exhaustion and service unavailability.
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
>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.49>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.28>= 6.2.0, < 6.2.18.1>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.7.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Spring Framework versionCheck your project's dependency management (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or the spring-core JAR manifest) to determine the exact Spring Framework version in useAffected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 5.3.0 to 5.3.48, 6.1.0 to 6.1.27, 6.2.0 to 6.2.18, or 7.0.0 to 7.0.7
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Locate SpEL expression evaluation codeSearch your codebase for SpelExpressionParser usage, @Value annotations with SpEL expressions, Spring Expression language parsing, or any endpoints that accept and evaluate expression stringsAffected if User-supplied input (HTTP request parameters, body content, headers, or configuration values) is passed to SpEL evaluation APIs without strict validation
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Check for input validation on SpEL endpointsReview the code paths that evaluate SpEL expressions to determine whether any input validation, sanitization, or allow-listing is performed before expression evaluationAffected if No input validation exists and untrusted user input flows directly into SpEL evaluation methods
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Inspect SpEL cache configurationLook for custom ParserContext configuration, ExpressionParser settings, or any custom caching implementations around SpelExpressionParser or Expression.evaluate() callsAffected if No cache size limits or expiration policies are configured for SpEL expression parsing/evaluation
You are affected if your application runs a vulnerable Spring Framework version AND accepts and evaluates user-supplied SpEL expressions without input validation or cache limits.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped5.3.496.1.286.2.18.1
Upgrade Spring Framework to versions 7.0.8+, 6.2.19+, 6.1.28+, or 5.3.49+ which contain the fix for this vulnerability. Additionally, implement input validation and consider configuring cache size limits for SpEL expression evaluation.
Spring Framework 5.3.49 (for 5.3.x line), 6.1.28 (for 6.1.x line), 6.2.18.1 (for 6.2.x line), or 7.0.7.1 (for 7.0.x line)
- 1. Identify all Spring Framework dependencies in your project by reviewing pom.xml, build.gradle, or other build configuration files
- 2. Determine your current Spring Framework major version line (5.3.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, or 7.0.x)
- 3. Upgrade Spring Framework to the fixed version for your major version line: 5.3.49, 6.1.28, 6.2.18.1, or 7.0.7.1
- 4. Update the version in your build configuration (e.g., change <spring.version>5.3.48</spring.version> to <spring.version>5.3.49</spring.version>)
- 5. Rebuild your application and run tests to verify compatibility
- 6. Deploy the updated application
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
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-41851 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-41851 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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