Spring Framework Improper Path Limitation in XsltViewGHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg
CRITICALFix: spring-projects/spring-framework@692dbc9GHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Path Traversal vulnerability in org.springframework:spring-webmvc. A fix is available for org.springframework:spring-webmvc — 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-pc63-qcmh-9cmg.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.springframework:spring-webmvc☕org.springframework:spring-webmvc☕org.springframework:spring-webmvc☕org.springframework:spring-webmvc☕org.springframework:spring-webmvc☕org.springframework:spring-webmvcReal-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
Use of XsltView in a Spring MVC application can result in SSRF and RCE attack if the application has an "/**" mapping that results in view rendering, and where the view name is not explicitly specified. Spring Framework 7.0.0 - 7.0.8 Spring Framework 6.2.0 - 6.2.19 Spring Framework 6.1.0 - 6.1.28 Spring Framework 6.0.0 - 6.0.30 Spring Framework 5.3.0 - 5.3.49 Spring Framework 5.2.25.RELEASE and earlier
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | all versions | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | ≥ 5.3.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | ≥ 6.0.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | ≥ 6.1.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | ≥ 6.2.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.springframework:spring-webmvc | ≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.0.9 | 7.0.9org.springframework:spring-webmvc:7.0.9 |
Affected Products
spring frameworkvmwareDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.springframework:spring-webmvc, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
No patched version of org.springframework:spring-webmvc has shipped for GHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
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.
Red Hat rates this vulnerability as Critical, a higher severity than the Medium rating assigned by the Spring project. This vulnerability requires a remote, unauthenticated attacker with no user interaction to trigger Server-Side Request Forgery and, depending on the XSLT processor's configuration, Remote Code…
There is no upstream-provided workaround; the Spring project's guidance is to upgrade to a fixed version. However, applications can avoid this vulnerability without upgrading by not using XsltView together with a broad/catch-all URL mapping that omits an explicit view name — explicitly specifying the view name for any controller or handler that renders a view prevents an attacker from controlling which XSLT stylesheet is loaded. For Red Hat Fuse 7, which is in Extended Life Support Phase 2 and will not receive a fix for this issue, this configuration-based workaround is the only available mitigation.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-pc63-qcmh-9cmg in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.