CVE-2023-20873 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure. A fix is available for org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Spring Boot Security Bypass with Wildcard Pattern Matching on Cloud Foundry
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- 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-2023-20873.
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-2023-20873 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 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigureReal-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 Boot versions 3.0.0 - 3.0.5, 2.7.0 - 2.7.10, and older unsupported versions, an application that is deployed to Cloud Foundry could be susceptible to a security bypass. Users of affected versions should apply the following mitigation: 3.0.x users should upgrade to 3.0.6+. 2.7.x users should upgrade to 2.7.11+. Users of older, unsupported versions should upgrade to 3.0.6+ or 2.7.11+.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.6 | 3.0.6org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure:3.0.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.11 | 2.7.11org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure:2.7.11 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure | ≥ 2.6.0&&< 2.6.15 | 2.6.15org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure:2.6.15 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure | all versions | 2.5.15org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure:2.5.15 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-actuator-autoconfigure to 3.0.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-20873 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-2023-20873 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2023-20873. 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.
The following Red Hat products do not ship the affected software component and so are not affected: * Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 * Enterprise Application Platform 6, 7, 8, XP * Data Grid 7, 8 * Migration Toolkit for Runtimes * Red Hat Build of OptaPlanner * Red Hat Integration Camel-K * Red Hat AMQ Broker 7 * Red…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat AMQ Streams 2.6.0 | spring-boot | RHSA-2023:7678 |
| RHINT Camel-Springboot 3.18.3.2 | spring-boot | RHSA-2023:5147 |
| RHINT Camel-Springboot 3.20.2 | spring-boot | RHSA-2023:5148 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-20873 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2023-20873 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.