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Code InjectionWeakness · CWE-94

CVE-2026-42555

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
97/100
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
Valtimo is an open-source business process automation platform. com.ritense.valtimo:document from 12.0.0 to before 12.32.0, com.ritense.valtimo:case from 13.0.0 to before 13.23.0, and com.ritense.valtimo:contract from 13.4.0 to before 13.23.0 evaluate Spring Expression Language (SpEL) expressions from user-supplied input using StandardEvaluationContext, which provides unrestricted access to Java types and methods. An authenticated user with the ADMIN role can achieve Remote Code Execution and credential exfiltration. This vulnerability is fixed in com.ritense.valtimo:document 2.32.0, com.ritense.valtimo:case 13.23.0, and com.ritense.valtimo:contract 13.23.0.

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

Valtimo's document, case, and contract modules use StandardEvaluationContext (an unsafe SpEL evaluation context) to process user-supplied Spring Expression Language expressions. This grants unrestricted access to Java types and reflection APIs, enabling an authenticated ADMIN user to execute arbitrary code on the host system and exfiltrate sensitive credentials through crafted SpEL expressions.

MitigationUpgrade to com.ritense.valtimo:document version 12.32.0+, case version 13.23.0+, and contract version 13.23.0+. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict ADMIN role permissions and disable or audit any endpoints accepting user-supplied SpEL input.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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. Verify Valtimo presence
    Search for Valtimo artifacts in your project dependencies (pom.xml, build.gradle, package.json) or application configurations. Look for com.ritense.valtimo references or valtimo-specific configuration files.
    Affected if Valtimo components are not found in your environment, you are not affected.
  2. Check document module version
    Locate the com.ritense.valtimo:document dependency in your build configuration (Maven pom.xml or Gradle build.gradle) and note the installed version. Compare this version number against the affected range (all versions before 12.32.0).
    Affected if The document module version is lower than 12.32.0.
  3. Check case module version
    Locate the com.ritense.valtimo:case dependency in your build configuration and note the installed version. Compare this version number against the affected range (all versions before 13.23.0).
    Affected if The case module version is lower than 13.23.0.
  4. Check contract module version
    Locate the com.ritense.valtimo:contract dependency in your build configuration and note the installed version. Compare this version number against the affected range (all versions before 13.23.0).
    Affected if The contract module version is lower than 13.23.0.
  5. Identify exposed SpEL endpoints
    Review application code and configuration for endpoints that accept user-supplied input and pass it to Spring Expression Language processing. Search for usages of StandardEvaluationContext or SpelExpressionParser in the codebase, particularly in document, case, or contract modules.
    Affected if Endpoints accepting user-controlled SpEL expressions are exposed and the vulnerable modules (document, case, or contract) are in use below the fixed versions.

You are affected if any of the Valtimo document module below 12.32.0, case module below 13.23.0, or contract module below 13.23.0 are in use and endpoints processing user-supplied SpEL expressions are accessible to authenticated ADMIN users.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to com.ritense.valtimo:document version 12.32.0+, case version 13.23.0+, and contract version 13.23.0+. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict ADMIN role permissions and disable or audit any endpoints accepting user-supplied SpEL input.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to com.ritense.valtimo:document version 12.32.0, and/or case/contract version 13.23.0 depending on which components are in use

  1. Identify which Valtimo components are in use (document, case, contract, or combinations) by examining project dependencies
  2. For Maven projects, update the version of com.ritense.valtimo:document to 12.32.0 in pom.xml
  3. For Maven projects, update the version of com.ritense.valtimo:case to 13.23.0 in pom.xml
  4. For Maven projects, update the version of com.ritense.valtimo:contract to 13.23.0 in pom.xml
  5. Run mvn clean compile or mvn dependency:resolve to verify the new versions are available
  6. Rebuild and redeploy the application
  7. Test that the application functions correctly after the upgrade
  8. As a compensating control, restrict ADMIN role assignments to only trusted users until the upgrade is applied
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically have low breaking change risk; review Valtimo release notes for any migration requirements

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2026-42555 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