CVE-2022-31692 is a critical security vulnerability affecting Spring Security versions 5.7 prior to 5.7.5 and 5.6 prior to 5.6.9. The vulnerability arises from an authorization bypass via the handling of forward or include dispatcher types in the Spring Security filter chain. Specifically, when an application configures Spring Security to apply authorization filters to all dispatcher types—including forward and include requests—and uses the AuthorizationFilter either manually or through the authorizeHttpRequests() method, it may be possible for an attacker to bypass intended authorization rules. This occurs because the application forwards or includes requests to higher privilege-secured endpoints, expecting Spring Security to enforce authorization on these dispatcher types. However, due to the vulnerability, the security checks can be bypassed, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive resources or operations. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-639 (Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key) and has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (critical), reflecting its high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability without requiring authentication or user interaction. Exploitation requires the application to be configured in a specific way that includes filtering on forward/include dispatcher types and forwarding requests internally to privileged endpoints. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the high severity and ease of exploitation make it a significant risk for affected applications. The issue was publicly disclosed on October 31, 2022, and patches are available in Spring Security versions 5.7.5 and 5.6.9 and later.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-31692 can be severe, especially for those relying on Spring Security in their web applications and microservices architectures. Unauthorized access to privileged endpoints can lead to data breaches, unauthorized data modification, and disruption of critical services. This can compromise the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive personal data protected under GDPR, potentially resulting in regulatory fines and reputational damage. Additionally, the availability of services may be affected if attackers exploit this vulnerability to perform unauthorized actions that disrupt normal operations. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure, which often use Spring-based applications, are particularly at risk. The vulnerability’s ability to bypass authorization without authentication or user interaction increases the likelihood of automated exploitation attempts, raising the urgency for mitigation in European enterprises.

To mitigate CVE-2022-31692, European organizations should immediately upgrade Spring Security to versions 5.7.5, 5.6.9, or later where the vulnerability is patched. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should review and adjust their Spring Security configurations to avoid applying authorization filters to forward and include dispatcher types. Specifically, avoid setting spring.security.filter.dispatcher-types to include forward and include unless absolutely necessary, and ensure that internal forwards or includes do not lead to higher privilege endpoints without additional security controls. Conduct thorough code reviews to identify any internal forwarding or including of requests to sensitive endpoints and implement additional access controls or validation at those endpoints. Employ runtime application self-protection (RASP) or web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious internal forwarding patterns. Finally, perform comprehensive security testing, including penetration testing focused on internal request dispatching, to verify that authorization bypass is not possible.