CVE-2026-40974 — spring-boot-cassandra
MEDIUMCVE-2026-40974 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5) CWE-295 vulnerability in org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra. A fix is available for org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Spring Boot's Cassandra SSL auto-configuration disables TLS hostname verification
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-2026-40974.
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-2026-40974 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-cassandra☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra☕org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandraReal-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
Spring Boot's Cassandra auto-configuration does not perform hostname verification when establishing an SSL connection to Cassandra.
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); Cassandra SSL auto-configuration. 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-cassandra | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.6 | 4.0.6org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra:4.0.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra | ≥ 3.5.0&&< 3.5.14 | 3.5.14org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra:3.5.14 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra | ≥ 3.4.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra | ≥ 3.3.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra | 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-cassandra, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-cassandra to 4.0.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-40974 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-2026-40974 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-40974. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-40974 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-40974 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.