CVE-2018-15801: Spring Framework Spring Security Vulnerable To Authorization Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-27xw-p8v6-9jjr
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CVSS 7.4
CWE-345
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-15801 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.4) spring security vulnerable to authorization vulnerability (CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) affecting Spring Framework libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves spring security vulnerable to authorization bypass. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 5.1.2.

CVE-2018-15801 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-15801
GHSA Identifier GHSA-27xw-p8v6-9jjr
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.4
CWE Classification CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
Affected Product Spring Framework
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2018-15801

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Spring Framework dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.springframework.security:spring-security-core fixed: 5.1.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-security-core</artifactId>
    <version>5.1.2</version>
</dependency>
org.springframework.security:spring-security-oauth2-jose fixed: 5.1.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.security</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-security-oauth2-jose</artifactId>
    <version>5.1.2</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.security

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-15801, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.security

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Spring Framework in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 5.1.2), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.security command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity, where the product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data. In Spring Framework, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Spring Security versions 5.1.x prior to 5.1.2 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability during JWT issuer validation. In order to be impacted, the same private key for an honest issuer and a malicious user must be used when signing JWTs. In that case, a malicious user could fashion signed JWTs with the malicious issuer URL that may be granted for the honest issuer.

CVE-2018-15801 Affected Spring Framework Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
5.1.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.springframework.security:spring-security-core
maven/org.springframework.security/spring-security-core
Maven
≥ 5.1.0
< 5.1.2
5.1.2
org.springframework.security:spring-security-oauth2-jose
maven/org.springframework.security/spring-security-oauth2-jose
Maven
≥ 5.1.0
< 5.1.2
5.1.2

References

NVD — CVE-2018-15801 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15801
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-security/commit/c70b65c5df0e170a2d34d812b83db0b7bc71ea25
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-27xw-p8v6-9jjr
Spring Framework Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-security
Spring Framework Security Information SECURITY
https://pivotal.io/security/cve-2018-15801

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-15801?
CVE-2018-15801 is a security vulnerability in Spring Framework involving Spring Security vulnerable to Authorization Bypass under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity.
Which Spring Framework versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 5.1.2 across affected packages: org.springframework.security:spring-security-core, org.springframework.security:spring-security-oauth2-jose.
What version fixes CVE-2018-15801?
Upgrading to 5.1.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is spring-security-core affected?
Yes, org.springframework.security:spring-security-core is affected in releases prior to 5.1.2. Upgrade your dependency to 5.1.2 or later.
Is spring-security-oauth2-jose affected?
Yes, org.springframework.security:spring-security-oauth2-jose is affected in releases prior to 5.1.2. Upgrade your dependency to 5.1.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-15801?
CVE-2018-15801 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.4 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-15801?
CVE-2018-15801 is classified under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity (The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-15801?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.security'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-27xw-p8v6-9jjr",
  "modified" : "2024-03-14T21:02:34Z",
  "published" : "2018-12-20T22:01:31Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-15801" ],
  "summary" : "Spring Security vulnerable to Authorization Bypass",
  "details" : "Spring Security versions 5.1.x prior to 5.1.2 contain an authorization bypass vulnerability during JWT issuer validation. In order to be impacted, the same private key for an honest issuer and a malicious user must be used when signing JWTs. In that case, a malicious user could fashion signed JWTs with the malicious issuer URL that may be granted for the honest issuer.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.springframework.security:spring-security-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.1.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.springframework.security:spring-security-oauth2-jose"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "5.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "5.1.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15801"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-security/commit/c70b65c5df0e170a2d34d812b83db0b7bc71ea25"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-27xw-p8v6-9jjr"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-security"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pivotal.io/security/cve-2018-15801"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-345" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T20:51:43Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-12-19T22:29:00Z"
  }
}