Access Control Bypass in Spring SecurityGHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w
CRITICALGHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) CWE-281 vulnerability in org.springframework.security:spring-security-config. A fix is available for org.springframework.security:spring-security-config — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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 GHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w.
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.security:spring-security-config☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-config☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-config☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-config☕org.springframework.security:spring-security-configReal-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
Using "**" as a pattern in Spring Security configuration for WebFlux creates a mismatch in pattern matching between Spring Security and Spring WebFlux, and the potential for a security bypass.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-config | ≥ 5.6.0&&< 5.6.12 | 5.6.12org.springframework.security:spring-security-config:5.6.12 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-config | ≥ 5.7.0&&< 5.7.10 | 5.7.10org.springframework.security:spring-security-config:5.7.10 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-config | ≥ 5.8.0&&< 5.8.5 | 5.8.5org.springframework.security:spring-security-config:5.8.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-config | ≥ 6.0.0&&< 6.0.5 | 6.0.5org.springframework.security:spring-security-config:6.0.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.security:spring-security-config | ≥ 6.1.0&&< 6.1.2 | 6.1.2org.springframework.security:spring-security-config:6.1.2 |
Affected Products
spring securityvmwareDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework.security:spring-security-config, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.springframework.security:spring-security-config to 5.6.12 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w 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.
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.
Users of path-based URL determination should ensure that all their patterns have a slash prepended. example: pathMatchers("home/**") // vulnerable pathMatchers("/home/**") // not vulnerableSource: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Fuse 7.12.1 | spring-security | RHSA-2023:7247 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-3h6f-g5f3-gc4w in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.