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High

Security Constraint Bypass in Spring Security

  • Disclosed: 15.09.2020
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 12:21

Spring Security does not consider URL path parameters when processing security constraints. By adding a URL path parameter with an encoded "/" to a request, an attacker may be able to bypass a security constraint. The root cause of this issue is a lack of clarity regarding the handling of path parameters in the Servlet Specification (see below). Some Servlet containers include path parameters in the value returned for getPathInfo() and some do not. Spring Security uses the value returned by getPathInfo() as part of the process of mapping requests to security constraints. The unexpected presence of path parameters can cause a constraint to be bypassed.

Users of Apache Tomcat (all current versions) are not affected by this vulnerability since Tomcat follows the guidance previously provided by the Servlet Expert group and strips path parameters from the value returned by getContextPath(), getServletPath() and getPathInfo() [1].

Users of other Servlet containers based on Apache Tomcat may or may not be affected depending on whether or not the handling of path parameters has been modified.

Users of IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5.x are known to be affected.

Users of other containers that implement the Servlet specification may be affected.

[1] https://issues.apache.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=25015

Affected Pivotal Products and Versions

Severity is high unless otherwise noted.

  • Spring Security 3.2.0 - 3.2.9
  • Spring Security 4.0.x - 4.1.3
  • Spring Security 4.2.0
  • Older unsupported versions are also affected

Mitigation

Adopting one of the following mitigations will protect against this vulnerability.

  • Use a Servlet container known not to include path parameters in the return values for getServletPath() and getPathInfo()
  • Upgrading to Spring Security 3.2.10, 4.1.4 or 4.2.1 will reject the request with a RequestRejectedException if the presence of an encoded "/" is detected. Note: If you wish to disable this feature it can be disabled by setting the DefaultHttpFirewall.allowUrlEncodedSlash = true. However, disabling this feature will mean applications are vulnerable (in containers that return path parameters in getServletPath() or getPathInfo()).

Credit

The issue was identified by Shumpei Asahara & Yuji Ito from NTT DATA Corporation and responsibly reported to Pivotal.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Java / Kotlin (Maven) org.springframework.security:spring-security-core < 3.2.10.RELEASE, >= 4.0.0.RELEASE, < 4.1.4.RELEASE, >= 4.2.0.RELEASE, < 4.2.1.RELEASE 3.2.10.RELEASE, 4.1.4.RELEASE, 4.2.1.RELEASE

References

CVSS score 7.5/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
-
Platform
Java / Kotlin (Maven)
Package
org.springframework.security:spring-security-core
Disclosed
15.09.2020
Updated
11.10.2026 12:21

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-v35c-49j6-q8hq - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: org.springframework.security:spring-security-core

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (31) in the archive
Total entries
31
First → latest
10.2018 04.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 4
  • High 11
  • Medium 15
  • Low 1

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. Spring Security annotation detection mechanism has authorization bypass
    High · 7.5 CVE-2025-41248 >= 6.4.0, < 6.4.10, >= 6.5.0, < 6.5.4 6.4.10, 6.5.4
  2. Spring Security authorization bypass for method security annotations on private methods
    Critical · 9.1 CVE-2025-41232 >= 6.4.0, < 6.4.6 6.4.6
  3. Erroneous authentication pass in Spring Security
    High · 8.2 CVE-2024-22257 < 5.7.12, >= 5.8.0, < 5.8.11, >= 6.0.0, < 6.1.8, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.3 5.7.12, 5.8.11, 6.1.8, 6.2.3
  4. Broken Access Control in Spring Security With Direct Use of isFullyAuthenticated
    High · 7.4 CVE-2024-22234 >= 6.1.0, < 6.1.7, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.2 6.1.7, 6.2.2
  5. Spring Security authorization rules can be bypassed via forward or include dispatcher types
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2022-31692 >= 5.7.0, < 5.7.5, >= 5.6.0, < 5.6.9 5.7.5, 5.6.9
  6. Authorization bypass in Spring Security
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2022-22978 >= 5.5.0, < 5.5.7, >= 5.6.0, < 5.6.4, < 5.4.11 5.5.7, 5.6.4, 5.4.11
  7. Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Spring Security
    High · 8.1 CVE-2017-4995 >= 4.2.0.RELEASE, < 4.2.3.RELEASE, >= 5.0.0.M1, < 5.0.0.M2 4.2.3.RELEASE, 5.0.0.M2
  8. Improper Authentication in Spring Security
    High · 7.3 CVE-2014-0097 >= 3.2.0, < 3.2.2.RELEASE, >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.5.RELEASE 3.2.2.RELEASE, 3.1.5.RELEASE
  9. Resource Exhaustion in Spring Security
    High · 7.5 CVE-2021-22119 >= 5.5.0, < 5.5.1, >= 5.4.0, < 5.4.7, >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.10, >= 5.2.0, < 5.2.11 5.5.1, 5.4.7, 5.3.10, 5.2.11
  10. Security Constraint Bypass in Spring Security this entry
    High · 7.5 CVE-2016-9879 < 3.2.10.RELEASE, >= 4.0.0.RELEASE, < 4.1.4.RELEASE, >= 4.2.0.RELEASE, < 4.2.1.RELEASE 3.2.10.RELEASE, 4.1.4.RELEASE, 4.2.1.RELEASE
  11. Authorization Bypass in Spring Security
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2014-3527 < 3.1.7, >= 3.2.0, < 3.2.5 3.1.7, 3.2.5
  12. Signature wrapping vulnerability in Spring Security
    High · 8.8 CVE-2020-5407 >= 5.2.0, < 5.2.4, >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.2 5.2.4, 5.3.2
  13. Insufficiently Protected Credentials and Improper Authentication in Spring Security
    High · 7.3 CVE-2019-11272 < 4.2.13 4.2.13
  14. Spring Security vulnerable to Authorization Bypass
    High · 7.4 CVE-2018-15801 >= 5.1.0, < 5.1.2 5.1.2
  15. Spring Security and Spring Framework may not recognize certain paths that should be protected
    High · 7.5 CVE-2016-5007 < 4.1.1 4.1.1

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