Spring Releases Security Updates Addressing "Spring4Shell" and Spring Cloud Function Vulnerabilities

Spring by VMWare has released Spring Cloud Function versions 3.1.7 and 3.2.3 to address remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability CVE-2022-22963 as well as Spring Framework versions 5.3.18 and 5.2.20 to address RCE vulnerability CVE-2022-22965, known as “Spring4Shell.” A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

According to VMware, the Spring4Shell vulnerability bypasses the patch for CVE-2010-1622, causing CVE-2010-1622 to become exploitable again. The bypass of the patch can occur because Java Development Kit (JDK) versions 9 and later provide two sandbox restriction methods, providing a path to exploit CVE-2010-1622 (JDK versions before 9 only provide one sandbox restriction method).

CISA encourages users and administrators to immediately apply the necessary updates in the Spring Blog posts that provide the Spring Cloud Function updates addressing CVE-2022-22963 and the Spring Framework updates addressing CVE-2022-22965. CISA also recommends reviewing VMWare Tanzu Vulnerability Report CVE-2022-22965: Spring Framework RCE via Data Binding on JDK 9+ and CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC) Vulnerability Note VU #970766 for more information.