CVE-2018-1199
spring-framework: Improper URL path validation allows for bypassing of security checks on static resources
Severity
ImportantRed Hat Product Security
CVSS 3.0
Review impact separately from score.
Published · January 29, 2018
Updated · August 5, 2026
Description
Spring Security (Spring Security 4.1.x before 4.1.5, 4.2.x before 4.2.4, and 5.0.x before 5.0.1; and Spring Framework 4.3.x before 4.3.14 and 5.0.x before 5.0.3) does not consider URL path parameters when processing security constraints. By adding a URL path parameter with special encodings, an attacker may be able to bypass a security constraint. The root cause of this issue is a lack of clarity regarding the handling of path parameters in the Servlet Specification. Some Servlet containers include path parameters in the value returned for getPathInfo() and some do not. Spring Security uses the value returned by getPathInfo() as part of the process of mapping requests to security constraints. In this particular attack, different character encodings used in path parameters allows secured Spring MVC static resource URLs to be bypassed.
CVSS score applicability
The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.
Mitigation
As a general precaution, users are encouraged to separate public and private resources. For example, separating static resources and mapping them to /resources/public/** and /resources/private/** is preferred to having one common root with mixed public and private resource content underneath.
CVSS / CWE
CVSS 3.0 · 7.5CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation