CVE-2024-38808 is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-770 vulnerability in org.springframework:spring-expression. A fix is available for org.springframework:spring-expression — see the affected versions and patch details below.
CVE-2024-38808: Spring Expression DoS Vulnerability
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-2024-38808.
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-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 5.3.0 - 5.3.38 and older unsupported versions, 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. Older, unsupported versions are also affected.
Specifically, an application is vulnerable when the following is true:
- The application evaluates user-supplied SpEL expressions.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-expression | all versions | 5.3.39org.springframework:spring-expression:5.3.39 |
Affected Products
active iq unified managernetapponcommand insightnetappspring 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 5.3.39 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-38808 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
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.
Moderate impact: CVE-2024-38808 affects certain Red Hat products containing the spring-expression component when an application evaluates user-supplied Spring Expression Language (SpEL) expressions. A maliciously crafted expression can cause uncontrolled CPU usage and denial of service. Red Hat's CVSS is 5.9…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2024-38808 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| OCP-Tools-4.12-RHEL-8 | jenkins-0:2.462.3.1730119132-3.el8 | RHSA-2024:8886 |
| OCP-Tools-4.13-RHEL-8 | jenkins-0:2.462.3.1729839924-3.el8 | RHSA-2024:8887 |
| OCP-Tools-4.14-RHEL-8 | jenkins-0:2.462.3.1729839727-3.el8 | RHSA-2024:8885 |
| OCP-Tools-4.15-RHEL-8 | jenkins-0:2.462.3.1729837947-3.el8 | RHSA-2024:8884 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.4.2 for Spring Boot | spring-expression | RHSA-2024:6508 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-38808 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.