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CVE-2016-9879· NVD / CVE Program· CNA dell

An issue was discovered in Pivotal Spring Security before 3.2.10, 4.1.x before 4.1.4, and 4.2.x before 4.2.1.

An issue was discovered in Pivotal Spring Security before 3.2.10, 4.1.x before 4.1.4, and 4.2.x before 4.2.1. 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. 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(). 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.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.0—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jan 6, 2017
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
1.4% · 72th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.4%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
vmwarespring security
ibmwebsphere application server

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • ibm websphere application server8.5.0.0
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.0.1
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.0.2
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.0
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.1
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.2
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.3
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.4
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.5
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.6
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.7
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.8
  • ibm websphere application server8.5.5.9
  • vmware spring security3.2.0
  • vmware spring security3.2.1
  • vmware spring security3.2.2
  • vmware spring security3.2.3
  • vmware spring security3.2.4
  • vmware spring security3.2.5
  • vmware spring security3.2.6

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (dell). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a Pivotal Spring Security before 3.2.10, 4.1.x before 4.1.4, and 4.2.x before 4.2.1

    • Pivotal Spring Security before 3.2.10, 4.1.x before 4.1.4, and 4.2.x before 4.2.1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Mavenorg.springframework.security:spring-security-corefrom 4.0.0.RELEASE · before 4.1.4.RELEASE4.1.4.RELEASE
Mavenorg.springframework.security:spring-security-corefrom 4.2.0.RELEASE · before 4.2.1.RELEASE4.2.1.RELEASE
Mavenorg.springframework.security:spring-security-corebefore 3.2.10.RELEASE3.2.10.RELEASE

Same product

vmware: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-22978In spring security versions prior to 5.4.11+, 5.5.7+ , 5.6.4+ and older unsupported versions, RegexRequestMatcher can easily be misconfigure
    43Plan
  • CVE-2023-34034Using "**" as a pattern in Spring Security configuration for WebFlux creates a mismatch in pattern matching between Spring Security and Sp
    40Plan
  • CVE-2022-31692Spring Security, versions 5.7 prior to 5.7.5 and 5.6 prior to 5.6.9 could be susceptible to authorization rules bypass via forward or includ
    40Plan
  • CVE-2014-3527When using the CAS Proxy ticket authentication from Spring Security 3.1 to 3.2.4 a malicious CAS Service could trick another CAS Service int
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-59270Spring Security embedded UnboundID LDAP server exposes well-known administrative bind DN on all network interfaces
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2026-22732Under Some Conditions Spring Security HTTP Headers Are not Written
    36Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Maven:org.springframework.security:spring-security-core3.2.10.RELEASEPackage registry (OSV)
Maven:org.springframework.security:spring-security-core4.1.4.RELEASEPackage registry (OSV)
Maven:org.springframework.security:spring-security-core4.2.1.RELEASEPackage registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

The product’s vendor appears in a public program. Matched by name; verify the scope text in the program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-417 · Communication Channel Errors

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records