X.509 authentication bypasses Spring Security account checks
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 21/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.18% (FIRST EPSS).
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- Fixed version: org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security (Maven) 4.1.4, 5.0.2.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security (Maven) 4.1.4, 5.0.2 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
X509AuthenticationProvider could issue a fully authenticated X509AuthenticationToken when a presented certificate mapped to UserDetails, without applying Spring Security's standard account lifecycle checks (disabled, locked, expired, or credentials-expired accounts). Affected versions: Spring Web Services 5.0.0 through 5.0.1; 4.1.0 through 4.1.3; 4.0.0 through 4.0.18; 3.1.0 through 3.1.8.
- Published
- Jun 11, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 4, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.1% · 7th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-287
Report tools
Action score
21
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 21 / 40 · 5.4 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.1%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · vmware
- 5.4
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens
Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| broadcom | spring web services | cpe:2.3:a:broadcom:spring_web_services |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- broadcom spring web servicesbefore 3.1.9
- broadcom spring web services4.0.0 and later · before 4.0.19
- broadcom spring web services4.1.0 and later · before 4.1.3.1
- broadcom spring web services5.0.0 and later · before 5.0.1.1
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (vmware). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Spring Spring Web Services
- 5.0.0 and later · before 5.0.1.1affected
- 4.1.0 and later · before 4.1.3.1affected
- 4.0.0 and later · before 4.0.19affected
- 3.1.0 and later · before 3.1.9affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | from 3.1.0 · up to and including 3.1.8 | — |
| Maven | org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | from 4.0.0 · up to and including 4.0.18 | — |
| Maven | org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | from 4.1.0 · before 4.1.4 | 4.1.4 |
| Maven | org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | from 5.0.0 · before 5.0.2 | 5.0.2 |
Same product
broadcom: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-3773Spring Web Services XML External Entity Injection (XXE)40Plan
- CVE-2026-40999Spring WS SSRF via unvalidated WS-Addressing reply destinations34Monitor
- CVE-2026-40998Jaxp13 XPath XXE via StreamSource and SAXSource32Monitor
- CVE-2026-40994Wss4jSecurityInterceptor disables WS-I BSP validation by default32Monitor
- CVE-2026-40997SOAP security faults leak Spring Security account state21Monitor
- CVE-2026-40996Inbound WS-Security allows RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 key transport by default19Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maven:org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | 4.1.4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| Maven:org.springframework.ws:spring-ws-security | 5.0.2 | Package 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.
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 researchersFinders, 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
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- low · data can be read
- Integrity
- low · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- Low
- Integrity impact
- Low
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-287 · Improper AuthenticationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
nvd-secondary
Root cause
Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-287 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);Fixed
const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Authentication AbuseCAPEC-114Medium
- Authentication BypassCAPEC-115Medium
- Identity SpoofingCAPEC-151likelihood: Medium · Medium
- Fake the Source of DataCAPEC-194Medium
- Exploiting Trust in ClientCAPEC-22likelihood: High · High
- Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive DataCAPEC-57likelihood: Medium · Very High
- Session HijackingCAPEC-593likelihood: High · Very High
- Token ImpersonationCAPEC-633Medium
ATT&CK techniques
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.