VulnerabilityPublished 24 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-22739: Spring Cloud · Path Traversal

Affects Spring CloudSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · public detection template (Nuclei) · CVSS 8.6 High · fixed in 5.0.2 : patch Spring Cloud soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.6High

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

EPSS: 1.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 68% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.0.2, 4.3.2, 4.2.3 +2

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

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

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: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Mar 2026
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: Spring Cloud Config Server - Path Traversal
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 29 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 to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
SpringSpring Cloud	Affected >=5.0.x <5.0.2	Fixed in 5.0.2
SpringSpring Cloud	Affected >=4.3.x <4.3.2	Fixed in 4.3.2
SpringSpring Cloud	Affected >=4.2.x <4.2.3	Fixed in 4.2.3
SpringSpring Cloud	Affected >=4.1.x <4.1.9	Fixed in 4.1.9
SpringSpring Cloud	Affected >=3.1.x <3.1.13	Fixed in 3.1.13
Mavenorg.springframework.cloud/spring-cloud`pkg:maven/org.springframework.cloud/spring-cloud`Other threats	Affected >=3.1.0 <3.1.13 >=4.1.0 <4.1.9 >=4.2.0 <4.2.3 >=4.3.0 <4.3.2 >=5.0.0 <5.0.2	Fixed in 3.1.13 4.1.9 4.2.3 4.3.2 5.0.2

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-2026-22739, organizations should immediately upgrade affected Spring Cloud versions to the patched releases: 3.1.13 or later, 4.1.9 or later, 4.2.3 or later, 4.3.2 or later, and 5.0.2 or later. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, implement strict network access controls to restrict access to the Spring Cloud Config Server to trusted internal networks or VPNs only. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious profile parameter values that attempt directory traversal patterns (e.g., '../'). Conduct thorough audits of configuration files and secrets to ensure no sensitive data has been exposed. Additionally, consider isolating the Config Server host and minimizing the file system permissions to limit accessible files to only those necessary for configuration management. Regularly monitor logs for anomalous requests targeting the profile parameter and establish incident response procedures to quickly address any detected exploitation attempts.

Description

Vulnerability in Spring Cloud when substituting the profile parameter from a request made to the Spring Cloud Config Server configured to the native file system as a backend, because it was possible to access files outside of the configured search directories.This issue affects Spring Cloud: from 3.1.X before 3.1.13, from 4.1.X before 4.1.9, from 4.2.X before 4.2.3, from 4.3.X before 4.3.2, from 5.0.X before 5.0.2.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-22739 is the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive configuration files and data stored on the Spring Cloud Config Server host. This can expose secrets such as database credentials, API keys, or internal service endpoints, which attackers can leverage to escalate privileges, move laterally within networks, or disrupt services. The vulnerability also poses risks to data integrity and availability, although to a lesser extent, as attackers might manipulate configuration data or cause denial of service by accessing critical files. Organizations worldwide that use Spring Cloud Config Server for managing distributed application configurations are at risk, especially those with sensitive or regulated data. The exposure of configuration secrets can lead to compliance violations, financial loss, reputational damage, and increased attack surface for subsequent intrusions. Given the network-exploitable nature and lack of authentication requirements, the vulnerability can be exploited remotely by unauthenticated attackers, increasing its threat level.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (Path Traversal) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

spring.io/security/cve-2026-22739 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Mar 2026, 01:01 UTC

Public exploits and detectiona Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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