CVE-2023-20863 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in org.springframework:spring-expression. A fix is available for org.springframework:spring-expression — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Spring Framework vulnerable to denial of service
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-20863.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework:spring-expression☕org.springframework:spring-expression☕org.springframework:spring-expressionReal-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 Framework versions prior to 5.2.24.release+ , 5.3.27+ and 6.0.8+ , it is possible for a user to provide a specially crafted Spring Expression Language (SpEL) expression that may cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-expression | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.8 | 6.0.8org.springframework:spring-expression:6.0.8 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-expression | ≥ 5.3.0&&< 5.3.27 | 5.3.27org.springframework:spring-expression:5.3.27 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-expression | all versions | 5.2.24.RELEASEorg.springframework:spring-expression:5.2.24.RELEASE |
Affected Products
spring frameworkvmwareDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework:spring-expression, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework:spring-expression to 6.0.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-20863 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| RHINT Camel-Springboot 3.18.3.P1 | springframework | RHSA-2023:2099 |
| RHINT Camel-Springboot 3.20.1 | springframework | RHSA-2023:2100 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-20863 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.