CVE-2022-22978 — spring-security-core
CRITICALCVE-2022-22978 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-863 vulnerability in org.springframework.security:spring-security-core. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. 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
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-22978 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework.security:spring-security-core☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-core☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-core☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-web☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-web☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-webReal-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
In spring security versions prior to 5.4.11+, 5.5.7+ , 5.6.4+ and older unsupported versions, RegexRequestMatcher can easily be misconfigured to be bypassed on some servlet containers. Applications using RegexRequestMatcher with . in the regular expression are possibly vulnerable to an authorization bypass.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | ≥ 5.5.0&&< 5.5.7 | 5.5.7org.springframework.security:spring-security-core:5.5.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | ≥ 5.6.0&&< 5.6.4 | 5.6.4org.springframework.security:spring-security-core:5.6.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-core | all versions | 5.4.11org.springframework.security:spring-security-core:5.4.11 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-web | ≥ 5.5.0&&< 5.5.7 | 5.5.7org.springframework.security:spring-security-web:5.5.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-web | ≥ 5.6.0&&< 5.6.4 | 5.6.4org.springframework.security:spring-security-web:5.6.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-web | all versions | 5.4.11org.springframework.security:spring-security-web:5.4.11 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & 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 5.5.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-22978 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-22978 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-22978. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| OCP-Tools-4.13-RHEL-8 | jenkins-0:2.387.3.1684911776-3.el8 | RHSA-2023:3299 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.11 | spring-security | RHSA-2022:5532 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-22978 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-22978 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.