GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h
MEDIUMGHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Spring for Apache Kafka: Improper Validation of Retry Topic Header Values Leads to Retry Sequence Manipulation
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 GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h.
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka☕org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka☕org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka☕org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka☕org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafkaReal-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 Kafka's retry topic infrastructure did not sufficiently validate user-controlled header values before acting on them. A producer could send a record with a crafted retry_topic-attempts header to supply an out-of-range attempt count and cause the retry topic router to misidentify where the message was in the retry sequence.
Affected versions: Spring for Apache Kafka 4.0.0 through 4.0.5; 3.3.0 through 3.3.15; 3.2.0 through 3.2.13; 2.9.0 through 2.9.13; 2.8.0 through 2.8.11.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.6 | 4.0.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka | ≥ 3.3.0&&< 3.3.16 | 3.3.16 |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka | ≥ 3.2.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka | ≥ 2.9.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka | 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.kafka:spring-kafka. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.springframework.kafka:spring-kafka to 4.0.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-53w6-v7cv-fc9h across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.