Security Bulletin
Summary
Multiple vulnerabilities were addressed in IBM Library Support for Spring 3.4.18
Vulnerability Details
CVEID: CVE-2026-40972
DESCRIPTION: An attacker on the same network as the remote application may be able to utilize a timing attack to discover information about the remote secret. In extreme circumstances this could result in the attacker determining the secret and uploading changed classes, thereby achieving remote code execution in the remote application.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); DevTools remote secret comparison. Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
CWE: CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy
CVSS Source: security@vmware.com
CVSS Base score: 7.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
CVEID: CVE-2026-40973
DESCRIPTION: A local attacker on the same host as the application may be able to take control of the directory used by `ApplicationTemp`. When `server.servlet.session.persistent` is set to `true` and the attack persists across application restarts, this may allow the attacker to read session information and hijack authenticated users or deploy a gadget chain and execute code as the application's user.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); predictable temp directory / `ApplicationTemp` ownership verification. Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
CWE: CWE-377: Insecure Temporary File
CVSS Source: security@vmware.com
CVSS Base score: 7
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
CVEID: CVE-2026-40974
DESCRIPTION: Spring Boot's Cassandra auto-configuration does not perform hostname verification when establishing an SSL connection to Cassandra.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); Cassandra SSL auto-configuration. Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
CWE: CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
CVSS Source: NVD
CVSS Base score: 9.8
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
CVEID: CVE-2026-40975
DESCRIPTION: Values produced by ${random.value} are not suitable for use as secrets. ${random.uuid} is not affected. ${random.int} and ${random.long} should never be used for secrets as they are numeric values with a predictable range.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); random value property source / weak PRNG for secrets. Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
CWE: CWE-330: Use of Insufficiently Random Values
CVSS Source: NVD
CVSS Base score: 7.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N)
CVEID: CVE-2026-40977
DESCRIPTION: When an application is configured to use `ApplicationPidFileWriter`, a local attacker with write access to the PID file's location can corrupt one file on the host each time the application is started.
Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); PID file / symlink behavior (`ApplicationPidFileWriter`). Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.
CWE: CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
CVSS Source: NVD
CVSS Base score: 6.7
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
CVEID: CVE-2026-22746
DESCRIPTION: Vulnerability in Spring Spring Security. If an application is using the UserDetails#isEnabled, #isAccountNonExpired, or #isAccountNonLocked user attributes, to enable, expire, or lock users, then DaoAuthenticationProvider's timing attack defense can be bypassed for users who are disabled, expired, or locked.This issue affects Spring Security: from 5.7.0 through 5.7.22, from 5.8.0 through 5.8.24, from 6.3.0 through 6.3.15, from 6.5.0 through 6.5.9, from 7.0.0 through 7.0.4.
CWE: CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy
CVSS Source: security@vmware.com
CVSS Base score: 3.7
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N)
CVEID: CVE-2026-22748
DESCRIPTION: Vulnerability in Spring Spring Security. When an application configures JWT decoding with NimbusJwtDecoder or NimbusReactiveJwtDecoder, it must configure an OAuth2TokenValidatorJwt separately, for example by calling setJwtValidator.This issue affects Spring Security: from 6.3.0 through 6.3.14, from 6.4.0 through 6.4.14, from 6.5.0 through 6.5.9, from 7.0.0 through 7.0.4.
CWE: CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
CVSS Source: NVD
CVSS Base score: 6.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
CVEID: CVE-2026-22751
DESCRIPTION: Vulnerability in Spring Spring Security. Applications that explicitly configure One-Time Token login with JdbcOneTimeTokenService are vulnerable to a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition. This issue affects Spring Security: from 6.4.0 through 6.4.15, from 6.5.0 through 6.5.9, from 7.0.0 through 7.0.4.
CWE: CWE-367: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
CVSS Source: security@vmware.com
CVSS Base score: 4.8
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N)
ID: CVE-2026-22752
DESCRIPTION: Spring Security Authorization Server Dynamic Client Registration endpoints perform insufficient validation of certain client metadata fields when explicitly enabled.
An attacker possessing a valid Initial Access Token can dynamically register a malicious client with crafted metadata. Depending on the metadata provided and the Authorization Server's configuration, this can lead to Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Privilege Escalation, or Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF).
CWE: CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
CVSS Source: VMware
CVSS Base score: 9.6
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N)
Affected Products and Versions
| Affected Product(s) | Version(s) |
| IBM Library Support for Spring | 3.4 to 3.4.16 |
Remediation/Fixes
IBM strongly recommends addressing the vulnerabilities by upgrading to version 3.4.18
| Product(s) | Version(s) number and/or range | Remediation/Fix/Instructions |
| IBM Library Support for Spring | 3.4.18 |
3.4.18 is available from IBM Passport Advantage Online website and IBM Fix Central |
The table below summarizes the affected Spring components, updated versions and remediated CVEs
| Spring Component | Fixed Version | CVEs Addressed |
| Spring Boot | 3.4.18 |
CVE-2026-40972 (High), CVE-2026-40973 (High), CVE-2026-40974 (Medium), CVE-2026-40975 (Medium), CVE-2026-40977 (Medium) |
| Spring Security | 6.4.16 |
CVE-2026-22748 (Medium), CVE-2026-22751 (Medium), CVE-2026-22746 (Low) |
| Spring Authorization Server | 1.4.11 |
CVE-2026-22752 (Critical) |
Workarounds and Mitigations
None
Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins
References
Acknowledgement
Change History
24 May 2026: Initial Publication
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.
Disclaimer
According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
24 May 2026
Initial Publish date:
24 May 2026
UID
ibm17273900