GHSA-c9ph-gxww-7744
CRITICALGHSA-c9ph-gxww-7744 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9) Expression Language Injection vulnerability in org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-c9ph-gxww-7744 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Sandboxed Thymeleaf expressions vulnerable to improper recognition of unauthorized syntax patterns
Blast Radius
org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf☕org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf-spring5☕org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf-spring6Real-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
Impact
A security bypass vulnerability exists in the expression execution mechanisms of Thymeleaf up to and including 3.1.4.RELEASE. Although the library provides mechanisms to avoid the execution of potentially dangerous expressions in some specific sandboxed (restricted) contexts, it fails to properly neutralize specific constructs that allow this kind of expressions to be executed. If an application developer passes to the template engine unsanitized variables that contain such expressions, and these values are used in sandboxed contexts inside the templates, these expressions can be executed achieving Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI).
Patches
This has been fixed in Thymeleaf 3.1.5.RELEASE. All users are advised to upgrade immediately.
Workarounds
No workaround is available beyond ensuring applications do not pass unvalidated/unsanitized data directly to the template engine. Upgrading to 3.1.5.RELEASE is strongly recommended in any case.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf | all versions | 3.1.5.RELEASE |
| ☕Maven | org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf-spring5 | all versions | 3.1.5.RELEASE |
| ☕Maven | org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf-spring6 | all versions | 3.1.5.RELEASE |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.thymeleaf:thymeleaf. 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.thymeleaf:thymeleaf to 3.1.5.RELEASE or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-c9ph-gxww-7744 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-c9ph-gxww-7744 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-c9ph-gxww-7744. 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-c9ph-gxww-7744 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-c9ph-gxww-7744 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.