CVE-2023-20883: High severity VMware Spring Boot vulnerability

Published May 23, 2023
·
Updated

In Spring Boot versions 3.0.0 - 3.0.6, 2.7.0 - 2.7.11, 2.6.0 - 2.6.14, 2.5.0 - 2.5.14 and older unsupported versions, there is potential for a denial-of-service (DoS) attack if Spring MVC is used together with a reverse proxy cache.

Affected Software

13 affected componentsFixes available
maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure<2.5.15
2.5.15
maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure>=2.6.0<2.6.15
2.6.15
maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure>=2.7.0<2.7.12
2.7.12
maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure>=3.0.0<3.0.7
3.0.7
VMware Spring Boot<2.5.14
VMware Spring Boot>=2.6.0<=2.6.14
VMware Spring Boot>=2.7.0<=2.7.11
VMware Spring Boot>=3.0.0<=3.0.6
redhat/spring-boot<3.0.7
3.0.7
redhat/spring-boot<2.7.12
2.7.12
redhat/spring-boot<2.6.15
2.6.15
redhat/spring-boot<2.5.15
2.5.15
IBM Edge Application Manager<=4.5

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.5.15
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.6.15
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.7.12
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade maven/org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-autoconfigure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.0.7
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/spring-boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.0.7
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/spring-boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.7.12
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/spring-boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.6.15
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade redhat/spring-boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.5.15
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade Spring Boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.0.7+
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade Spring Boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.7.12+
  11. Upgrade

    Upgrade Spring Boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.6.15+
  12. Upgrade

    Upgrade Spring Boot to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2.5.15+
  13. Compensating control

    Configure the reverse proxy to not cache 404 responses (workaround for affected Spring MVC + reverse proxy cache scenario).

  14. Compensating control

    Configure the reverse proxy to not cache responses to requests to the root (/) of the application (workaround for affected Spring MVC + welcome page + reverse proxy cache scenario).

Event History

May 23, 2023
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·02:49 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
May 26, 2023
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:00 AM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
05:15 PM
Description
Advisory Published
06:30 PM
Aug 20, 2025
Data Sourced
via IBM·12:00 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2023-20883?

CVE-2023-20883 is a vulnerability in Spring Boot versions 3.0.0 - 3.0.6, 2.7.0 - 2.7.11, 2.6.0 - 2.6.14, 2.5.0 - 2.5.14, and older unsupported versions.

2

What is the severity level of CVE-2023-20883?

The severity level of CVE-2023-20883 is high with a CVSS score of 7.5.

3

How can this vulnerability be exploited?

This vulnerability can be exploited through a denial-of-service (DoS) attack if Spring MVC is used together with a reverse proxy cache.

4

Which versions of Spring Boot are affected by CVE-2023-20883?

Spring Boot versions 3.0.0 - 3.0.6, 2.7.0 - 2.7.11, 2.6.0 - 2.6.14, 2.5.0 - 2.5.14, and older unsupported versions are affected by CVE-2023-20883.

5

How can I fix CVE-2023-20883?

To fix CVE-2023-20883, upgrade to the following versions: 2.5.15 for 2.5.x, 2.6.15 for 2.6.x, 2.7.12 for 2.7.x, and 3.0.7 for 3.0.x.

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