CVE-2014-3527 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Improper Authentication vulnerability in org.springframework.security:spring-security-core. A fix is available for org.springframework.security:spring-security-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Authorization Bypass in Spring Security
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2014-3527 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework.security:spring-security-core☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-coreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
When using Spring Security's CAS Proxy ticket authentication a malicious CAS Service could trick another CAS Service into authenticating a proxy ticket that was not associated. This is due to the fact that the proxy ticket authentication uses the information from the HttpServletRequest which is populated based upon untrusted information within the HTTP request.
This means if there are access control restrictions on which CAS services can authenticate to one another, those restrictions can be bypassed.
If users are not using CAS Proxy tickets and not basing access control decisions based upon the CAS Service, then there is no impact to users.
Mitigation
Users of affected versions should apply the following mitigation:
- Users of 3.2x should upgrade to 3.2.5 or later
- Users of 3.1.x should upgrade to 3.1.7 or later
Credit
This issue was identified by David Ohsie and brought to our attention by the CAS Development team.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | all versions | 3.1.7org.springframework.security:spring-security-core:3.1.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | ≥ 3.2.0&&< 3.2.5 | 3.2.5org.springframework.security:spring-security-core:3.2.5 |
Affected Products
spring securityvmwareDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework.security:spring-security-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework.security:spring-security-core to 3.1.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2014-3527 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-3527 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.