Insufficiently Protected Credentials and Improper Authentication in Spring Security
Spring Security, versions 4.2.x up to 4.2.12, and older unsupported versions support plain text passwords using PlaintextPasswordEncoder. If an application using an affected version of Spring Security is leveraging PlaintextPasswordEncoder and a user has a null encoded password, a malicious user (or attacker) can authenticate using a password of ?null?.
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.springframework.security:spring-security-cas | < 4.2.13.RELEASE | 4.2.13.RELEASE |
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | < 4.2.13 | 4.2.13 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-287, CWE-522- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.springframework.security:spring-security-cas, org.springframework.security:spring-security-core- Disclosed
- 27.06.2019
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 11:21
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-v33x-prhc-gph5 - 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.
- 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
- 2018: 3
- 2019: 2
- 2020: 4
- 2021: 1
- 2022: 10
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 4
- 2025: 3
- 2026: 3
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Insufficiently Protected Credentials and Improper Authentication in Spring Security this entry
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