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High

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Spring Framework

  • Disclosed: 13.05.2022
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 12:20

When processing user provided XML documents, the Spring Framework 4.0.0 to 4.0.4, 3.0.0 to 3.2.8, and possibly earlier unsupported versions did not disable by default the resolution of URI references in a DTD declaration. This enabled an XXE attack.

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Java / Kotlin (Maven) org.springframework:spring-webmvc >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5, >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.8 4.0.5, 3.2.8

References

CVSS score 8.8/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-611
Platform
Java / Kotlin (Maven)
Package
org.springframework:spring-webmvc
Disclosed
13.05.2022
Updated
11.10.2026 12:20

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-f93f-g33r-8pcp - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: org.springframework:spring-webmvc

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (27) in the archive
Total entries
27
First → latest
10.2018 08.2026
Without a fix
0
Exploited in attacks
1

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 4
  • High 8
  • Medium 13
  • Low 2

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. Spring Framework Server Sent Event stream corruption while rendering fragments
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2026-47890 >= 6.2.0, <= 6.2.19, >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.9 7.0.9
  2. Spring Framework Improper Path Limitation in XsltView
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2026-47884 <= 5.2.25.RELEASE, >= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.49, >= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.30, >= 6.1.0, <= 6.1.28, >= 6.2.0, <= 6.2.19, >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.9 7.0.9
  3. Spring Framework Cross-site Scripting via JavaScriptUtils
    High · 7.1 CVE-2026-41845 >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.8, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.19, >= 6.1.0, <= 6.1.21, <= 5.3.39 7.0.8, 6.2.19
  4. Spring Framework Denial of Service via Versioned Resources in Spring MVC and WebFlux
    High · 7.5 CVE-2026-41842 >= 7.0.0, < 7.0.8, >= 6.2.0, < 6.2.19, >= 6.1.0, <= 6.1.21, <= 5.3.39 7.0.8, 6.2.19
  5. Spring Framework Path Traversal vulnerability
    High · 7.5 CVE-2024-38819 >= 6.1.0, < 6.1.14, <= 5.3.40, >= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.24 6.1.14
  6. Path traversal vulnerability in functional web frameworks
    High · 7.5 CVE-2024-38816 >= 6.1.0, < 6.1.13, >= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.23, >= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.39 6.1.13
  7. Spring Framework vulnerable to denial of service
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-34053 >= 6.0.0, < 6.0.14 6.0.14
  8. Spring Framework is vulnerable to security bypass via mvcRequestMatcher pattern mismatch
    Critical · 9.1 CVE-2023-20860 >= 6.0.0, < 6.0.7, >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.26 6.0.7, 5.3.26
  9. Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Spring Framework this entry
    High · 8.8 CVE-2014-0225 >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.5, >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.8 4.0.5, 3.2.8
  10. Remote Code Execution in Spring Framework
    Critical · 9.8 Exploited in attacks CVE-2022-22965 < 5.2.20.RELEASE, >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.18 5.2.20.RELEASE, 5.3.18
  11. RFD attack via Content-Disposition header sourced from request input by Spring MVC or Spring WebFlux Application
    High · 7.5 CVE-2020-5398 >= 5.2.0.RELEASE, < 5.2.3.RELEASE, >= 5.1.0.RELEASE, < 5.1.13.RELEASE, >= 5.0.0.RELEASE, < 5.0.16.RELEASE 5.2.3.RELEASE, 5.1.13.RELEASE, 5.0.16.RELEASE
  12. Pivotal Spring Framework Paths provided to the ResourceServlet were not properly sanitized
    High · 7.5 CVE-2016-9878 < 3.2.18, >= 4.2.0, < 4.2.9, >= 4.3.0, < 4.3.5 3.2.18, 4.2.9, 4.3.5

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