CVE-2026-22738: Spring AI SpEL Injection Is Triggered When Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fvh3-672c-7p6c
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-917 CWE-88 CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-22738 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) spel injection is triggered when vulnerability (CWE-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')) affecting Spring AI libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves spel injection is triggered when a user-supplied value is used as a filter expression key. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.5, 1.1.4.

CVE-2026-22738 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-22738
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fvh3-672c-7p6c
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')
Affected Product Spring AI
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-22738

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Spring AI 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.ai:spring-ai-vector-store fixed: 1.0.5 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.ai</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-ai-vector-store</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.5</version>
</dependency>
org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store fixed: 1.1.4 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.ai</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-ai-vector-store</artifactId>
    <version>1.1.4</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.ai

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-22738, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Spring AI in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.5), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.ai 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-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of an expression language (el) statement in a framework such as a java server page (jsp) using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended el statement before it is executed. In Spring AI, 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

In Spring AI, a SpEL injection vulnerability exists in SimpleVectorStore when a user-supplied value is used as a filter expression key. A malicious actor could exploit this to execute arbitrary code. Only applications that use SimpleVectorStore and pass user-supplied input as a filter expression key are affected. This issue affects Spring AI: from 1.0.0 before 1.0.5, from 1.1.0 before 1.1.4.

CVE-2026-22738 Affected Spring AI Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.51.1.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store
maven/org.springframework.ai/spring-ai-vector-store
Maven
≥ 1.0.0
< 1.0.5
1.0.5
org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store
maven/org.springframework.ai/spring-ai-vector-store
Maven
≥ 1.1.0-M1
< 1.1.4
1.1.4

References

NVD — CVE-2026-22738 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22738
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/commit/ba9220b22383e430d5f801ce8e4fa01cf9e75f29
Spring AI Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai
Spring AI Release RELEASE
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/releases/tag/v1.0.5
Spring AI Release RELEASE
https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/releases/tag/v1.1.4
Spring AI Security Information SECURITY
https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22738

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-22738?
CVE-2026-22738 is a security vulnerability in Spring AI involving SpEL injection is triggered when a user-supplied value is used as a filter expression key under CWE-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection').
Which Spring AI versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.5, 1.1.4 across affected packages: org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store.
What version fixes CVE-2026-22738?
Upgrading to 1.0.5, 1.1.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is spring-ai-vector-store affected?
Yes, org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store is affected in releases prior to 1.0.5, 1.1.4. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.5, 1.1.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-22738?
CVE-2026-22738 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-22738?
CVE-2026-22738 is classified under CWE-917: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection') (The product constructs all or part of an expression language (EL) statement in a framework such as a Java Server Page (JSP) using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended EL statement before it is executed.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-22738?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.springframework.ai'. 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-fvh3-672c-7p6c",
  "modified" : "2026-05-13T13:44:15Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-27T06:31:42Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-22738" ],
  "summary" : "Spring AI: SpEL injection is triggered when a user-supplied value is used as a filter expression key",
  "details" : "In Spring AI, a SpEL injection vulnerability exists in SimpleVectorStore when a user-supplied value is used as a filter expression key. A malicious actor could exploit this to execute arbitrary code. Only applications that use SimpleVectorStore and pass user-supplied input as a filter expression key are affected.\n\nThis issue affects Spring AI: from 1.0.0 before 1.0.5, from 1.1.0 before 1.1.4.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.springframework.ai:spring-ai-vector-store"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.1.0-M1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.1.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22738"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/commit/ba9220b22383e430d5f801ce8e4fa01cf9e75f29"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/releases/tag/v1.0.5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/spring-projects/spring-ai/releases/tag/v1.1.4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22738"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-88", "CWE-917", "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-29T15:31:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-27T06:16:37Z"
  }
}