VulnerabilityPublished 19 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-22731: Spring Boot · Authentication bypass using an alternate path or channel

Affects Spring BootSource CVE Database V5

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Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-22733

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High · fixed in 4.0.3 : patch Spring Boot soon.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 20:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.2High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 27% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.0.3, 3.5.11, 3.4.15

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 31 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Spring Boot and org.springframework.boot/spring-boot to 4.0.3, 3.5.11 or 3.4.15.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SpringSpring Boot	Affected >=4.0 <4.0.3	Fixed in 4.0.3
SpringSpring Boot	Affected >=3.5 <3.5.11	Fixed in 3.5.11
SpringSpring Boot	Affected >=3.4 <3.4.15	Fixed in 3.4.15
Mavenorg.springframework.boot/spring-boot`pkg:maven/org.springframework.boot/spring-boot`Other threats	Affected <4.0.3 >=3.5 <3.5.11 >=3.4 <3.4.15	Fixed in 4.0.3 3.5.11 3.4.15

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-22731, organizations should immediately upgrade Spring Boot to versions 4.0.3 or later, 3.5.11 or later, or 3.4.15 or later where the vulnerability is patched. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, administrators must audit and restrict access to Actuator endpoints, ensuring that authentication is enforced consistently across all paths, including those configured as Health Group additional paths. Implement network-level access controls such as IP whitelisting or VPN-only access to sensitive management endpoints. Review and avoid declaring application endpoints under paths already used by Health Groups to prevent bypass scenarios. Employ security best practices such as using strong authentication mechanisms (e.g., OAuth2, Basic Auth with strong credentials) and enabling HTTPS to protect data in transit. Regularly monitor application logs for suspicious access patterns to Actuator endpoints. Additionally, conduct thorough security testing and code reviews focusing on endpoint configuration and access control logic. Finally, maintain awareness of related vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-22733 to ensure comprehensive protection.

Description

Spring Boot applications with Actuator can be vulnerable to an "Authentication Bypass" vulnerability when an application endpoint that requires authentication is declared under a specific path, already configured for a Health Group additional path. This issue affects Spring Boot: from 4.0 before 4.0.3, from 3.5 before 3.5.11, from 3.4 before 3.4.15. This CVE is similar but not equivalent to CVE-2026-22733, as the conditions for exploit and vulnerable versions are different.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-22731 is unauthorized access to sensitive Actuator endpoints in Spring Boot applications, leading to a high confidentiality breach. Attackers can bypass authentication controls and retrieve potentially sensitive operational data, configuration details, or health metrics that could facilitate further attacks or reconnaissance. Although the integrity and availability impacts are low, the exposure of internal application details can aid attackers in crafting more targeted exploits or cause reputational damage. Organizations relying on Spring Boot for critical applications, especially those exposing Actuator endpoints in production environments, face increased risk of data leakage and compliance violations. The ease of exploitation—requiring no authentication or user interaction—and network accessibility make this vulnerability particularly dangerous in internet-facing applications. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not diminish the urgency for remediation. Failure to address this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, undermining trust and potentially violating data protection regulations.

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
Architecture and Design
Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
V1.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Directory Indexing (opens in a new tab)
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

spring.io/security/cve-2026-22731 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 Mar 2026, 23:09 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-288

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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