VulnerabilityPublished 19 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-22733: Spring Security · Authentication bypass using an alternate path or channel

Affects Spring SecuritySource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High.

Data as of 31 Oct 2026, 08:20 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 30% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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 30 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SpringSpring Security	Affected >=4.0.0 <=4.0.3 >=3.5.0 <=3.5.11 >=3.4.0 <=3.4.14 >=3.3.0 <=3.3.17 >=2.7.0 <=2.7.31	Fixed in–
Mavenorg.springframework.security/spring-security-core`pkg:maven/org.springframework.security/spring-security-core`Other threats	Affected 2.7.0 – 4.0.0 5 affected builds	Fixed in–

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-2026-22733, organizations should immediately upgrade to patched versions of Spring Security where this vulnerability is resolved. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should implement strict network-level access controls to restrict access to Actuator endpoints, ensuring they are not exposed to untrusted networks or the public internet. Application developers should avoid declaring application endpoints under the same path as CloudFoundry Actuator endpoints to prevent path-based authentication bypass. Additionally, enabling and enforcing strong authentication and authorization mechanisms at both the application and infrastructure layers can reduce risk. Monitoring and logging access to Actuator endpoints should be enhanced to detect any unauthorized access attempts promptly. Organizations should also review their deployment configurations to ensure that sensitive management endpoints are disabled or secured appropriately in production environments. Finally, conducting a thorough security assessment of Spring Boot applications using affected versions can help identify and remediate any exposure caused by this vulnerability.

Description

Spring Boot applications with Actuator can be vulnerable to an "Authentication Bypass" vulnerability when an application endpoint that requires authentication is declared under the path used by the CloudFoundry Actuator endpoints. This issue affects Spring Security: from 4.0.0 through 4.0.3, from 3.5.0 through 3.5.11, from 3.4.0 through 3.4.14, from 3.3.0 through 3.3.17, from 2.7.0 through 2.7.31.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-22733 is unauthorized access to sensitive application endpoints that are intended to be protected by authentication, leading to a breach of confidentiality. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can gain access to potentially sensitive operational data, configuration details, or management interfaces exposed via Actuator endpoints. This can facilitate further attacks, including data exfiltration, reconnaissance, or lateral movement within an organization's infrastructure. The integrity impact is limited but could allow attackers to view or partially manipulate some data depending on the endpoint accessed. Availability is not directly impacted by this vulnerability. Organizations relying on affected Spring Security versions face significant risk, especially those exposing Actuator endpoints in production environments without additional network-level protections. The ease of exploitation and lack of required privileges increase the likelihood of exploitation attempts, potentially leading to widespread unauthorized access incidents. This vulnerability could be particularly damaging in industries with sensitive data such as finance, healthcare, and government sectors.

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-2026-22733 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 Mar 2026, 23:53 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-288

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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