CVE-2026-40972 — spring-boot-devtools
HIGHCVE-2026-40972 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-208 vulnerability in org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools. A fix is available for org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Spring Boot DevTools remote secret comparison is vulnerable to timing attacks
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2026-40972.
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-2026-40972 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% 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-devtools☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtoolsReal-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
An attacker on the same network as the remote application may be able to utilize a timing attack to discover information about the remote secret. In extreme circumstances this could result in the attacker determining the secret and uploading changed classes, thereby achieving remote code execution in the remote application.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); DevTools remote secret comparison. Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.6 | 4.0.6org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools:4.0.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools | ≥ 3.5.0&&< 3.5.14 | 3.5.14org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools:3.5.14 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools | ≥ 3.4.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools | ≥ 3.3.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools | all versions | No fix |
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-devtools, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-devtools to 4.0.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-40972 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-2026-40972 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-40972. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| HawtIO HawtIO 4.4.0 | spring-boot | RHSA-2026:25089 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.18.1 for Spring Boot 3.5.14 | spring-boot | RHSA-2026:17668 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3.28 | devspaces/openvsx-rhel9:1779528224 | RHSA-2026:21772 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-40972 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-40972 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.