Threat: Dependency Confusion / Substitution Attacks
Description: An attacker could upload a malicious library to a public repository with the same name as a legitimate internal or public dependency used by the Spring application. If the application's dependency management is not properly configured, it might download and use the malicious library instead of the intended one. This allows the attacker to inject arbitrary code into the application build or runtime environment.
Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE), Data Breach, Denial of Service (DoS), Supply Chain Compromise.
Affected Spring Component: Dependency Management (Maven/Gradle integration, dependency resolution process).
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Utilize private or trusted dependency repositories.
- Implement dependency scanning and vulnerability analysis tools in CI/CD pipelines.
- Employ Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to continuously monitor and manage dependencies.
- Use dependency checksum verification (e.g., Maven dependency verification) to ensure integrity.
- Implement network segmentation to restrict outbound access from build environments.
Threat: Bean Definition Injection / Manipulation
Description: An attacker could exploit vulnerabilities in application logic that dynamically creates or modifies Spring bean definitions based on external, untrusted input (e.g., configuration files, user-provided data). By crafting malicious input, the attacker can inject new beans or modify existing ones to alter application behavior, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation.
Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE), Privilege Escalation, Data Tampering, Denial of Service (DoS), Application Logic Bypass.
Affected Spring Component: Spring Core (Bean Definition Registry, Application Context).
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Avoid dynamic bean definition creation based on untrusted input.
- Strictly validate and sanitize any input used in bean definition logic.
- Implement robust input validation and sanitization across the application.
- Enforce principle of least privilege for application components and bean creation logic.
- Regularly audit bean definition configurations and dynamic creation logic.
Threat: SpEL Injection
Threat: SpEL Injection
Description: An attacker could inject malicious Spring Expression Language (SpEL) expressions into application inputs if user-controlled data is directly used within SpEL expressions without proper sanitization. When the application evaluates these expressions using Spring's SpEL engine, the attacker's malicious code will be executed on the server.
Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE), Data Breach, System Compromise, Full Server Takeover.
Affected Spring Component: Spring Expression Language (SpEL) module.
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Avoid using user input directly in SpEL expressions.
- If SpEL is absolutely necessary with user input, implement extremely strict input validation and sanitization, which is highly complex and error-prone. It's generally recommended to avoid this pattern entirely.
- Consider using alternative templating engines or safer expression languages if possible.
- Apply security context restrictions to SpEL execution if feasible (though this is often complex to implement effectively).
- Regularly update Spring Framework to patch known SpEL injection vulnerabilities.
Threat: Insecure Deserialization
Threat: Insecure Deserialization
Description: An attacker could send a malicious serialized object as part of an HTTP request body (e.g., JSON, XML) if Spring MVC is configured to use deserialization mechanisms (like Jackson, Gson, or XStream). If vulnerabilities exist in these deserialization libraries or if they are misconfigured (e.g., polymorphic deserialization enabled unnecessarily), the attacker can trigger arbitrary code execution on the server when the application deserializes the malicious object.
Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE), Denial of Service (DoS), System Compromise.
Affected Spring Component: Spring MVC (Message Conversion, @RequestBody), Jackson/Gson/XStream libraries (used by Spring).
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Keep deserialization libraries (Jackson, Gson, XStream, etc.) up-to-date with the latest security patches.
- Configure deserialization libraries securely, disabling polymorphic deserialization by default unless absolutely necessary and carefully controlled.
- Implement input validation and sanitization before deserialization if possible.
- Consider using safer data formats or serialization methods if possible (e.g., avoid Java serialization entirely).
- Use allow-lists for deserialization types if polymorphic deserialization is required.
Threat: Spring Boot Actuator Exposure
Threat: Spring Boot Actuator Exposure
Description: An attacker could access sensitive information and potentially perform administrative actions if Spring Boot Actuator endpoints are exposed without proper authentication and authorization. Actuator endpoints can reveal application configuration, environment variables, metrics, and even allow for application shutdown or reconfiguration in some cases.
Impact: Information Disclosure, Privilege Escalation, Denial of Service (DoS), potentially Remote Code Execution (depending on exposed endpoints and configurations).
Affected Spring Component: Spring Boot Actuator module.
Risk Severity: High
Mitigation Strategies:
- Secure Spring Boot Actuator endpoints. Implement authentication and authorization for actuator endpoints using Spring Security.
- Restrict access to actuator endpoints to authorized users or internal networks only.
- Carefully review and disable actuator endpoints that are not necessary or expose sensitive information.
- Customize actuator endpoint paths to make them less predictable (though security by obscurity is not a primary defense).
- Use Spring Boot Actuator's security features to configure access control.
Threat: Misconfiguration of Spring Security Filters and Rules
Description: An attacker could bypass authentication or authorization controls if Spring Security filters or security rules are misconfigured. This could involve incorrect filter ordering, overly permissive access rules, missing security headers, or logic errors in custom security configurations. Misconfigurations can lead to unauthorized access to protected resources or functionalities.
Impact: Authentication Bypass, Authorization Bypass, Unauthorized Access, Data Breach, Privilege Escalation.
Affected Spring Component: Spring Security module (Filter Chain, Security Rules, Configuration).
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Thoroughly understand Spring Security's filter chain and configuration mechanisms.
- Follow security best practices when configuring security rules and access control (principle of least privilege, deny by default).
- Use Spring Security's built-in security headers and configure them appropriately (e.g.,
Content-Security-Policy,X-Frame-Options,Strict-Transport-Security,X-Content-Type-Options,Referrer-Policy,Permissions-Policy). - Regularly review and audit Spring Security configurations.
- Utilize Spring Security's testing features to verify security configurations and access control rules.
- Employ security linters and static analysis tools to detect potential misconfigurations.
Threat: Authentication and Authorization Bypass in Custom Security Implementations
Description: An attacker could exploit logic errors or vulnerabilities in custom authentication or authorization logic implemented using Spring Security (e.g., custom UserDetailsService, custom AccessDecisionVoter, custom filters). Flaws in custom code can lead to bypassing security checks, allowing unauthorized access or privilege escalation.
Impact: Authentication Bypass, Authorization Bypass, Unauthorized Access, Privilege Escalation, Data Breach.
Affected Spring Component: Spring Security module (Custom Authentication/Authorization implementations).
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Thoroughly test and review custom security implementations, including unit tests and integration tests.
- Follow secure coding practices when developing custom security logic (input validation, error handling, secure session management).
- Utilize Spring Security's provided abstractions and components as much as possible to minimize custom code and reduce the risk of introducing vulnerabilities.
- Conduct security code reviews and penetration testing of custom security implementations.
- Employ static analysis tools to identify potential vulnerabilities in custom security code.
Threat: Vulnerabilities in Spring Framework Core or Dependencies
Description: An attacker could exploit known security vulnerabilities in the Spring Framework core libraries or its dependencies. These vulnerabilities could be in various components and might allow for remote code execution, denial of service, information disclosure, or other attacks. Publicly disclosed vulnerabilities are often targeted by attackers.
Impact: Remote Code Execution (RCE), Denial of Service (DoS), Information Disclosure, System Compromise, Wide-ranging application compromise.
Affected Spring Component: Spring Framework Core, various Spring modules, and their dependencies.
Risk Severity: Critical
Mitigation Strategies:
- Keep Spring Framework and all its dependencies up-to-date with the latest security patches. This is the most critical mitigation.
- Subscribe to security advisories and vulnerability databases related to Spring Framework and its ecosystem (e.g., Spring Security Advisories, CVE databases).
- Regularly scan dependencies for known vulnerabilities using dependency scanning tools (e.g., OWASP Dependency-Check, Snyk).
- Implement a robust patch management process to quickly apply security updates.
- Monitor for security announcements and proactively update vulnerable components.