Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Spring Cloud Config Server can be tricked into serving files outside its intended configuration paths. An unauthenticated network attacker may be able to read or alter sensitive files exposed through the service. The issue is critical because exploitation needs no user interaction and the affected component often centralizes application configuration.
Executive priority
High priority for immediate remediation. Configuration servers can expose secrets and operational settings, so compromise may affect multiple downstream applications even without service outage.
Technical view
CVE-2026-40982 is a CWE-22 directory traversal flaw in spring-cloud-config-server. A specially crafted URL can cause arbitrary text or binary files to be served. CVSS 3.1 is 9.1: network exploitable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, high confidentiality and integrity impact, no availability impact stated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely where Spring Cloud Config Server uses affected 3.1.x, 4.1.x, 4.2.x, 4.3.x, or 5.0.x versions. The source bundle does not state that all Spring applications are affected; focus on deployments using the config server module, especially if reachable from untrusted networks.
Exploitation context
The provided sources describe unauthenticated network exploitation through a crafted URL, but do not cite public exploitation, exploit code, or CISA KEV listing. Treat internet-facing instances as urgent because the CVSS vector requires no privileges or user interaction.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for affected ranges, CVSS, CWE, and fixed versions from the source bundle. Evidence is incomplete for exploitation in the wild, product-specific downstream impact, and Red Hat package status beyond referenced advisories.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade 3.1.x to 3.1.14 or later where Enterprise Support is available.
- Upgrade 4.1.x to 4.1.10 or later where Enterprise Support is available.
- Upgrade 4.2.x to 4.2.7 or later where Enterprise Support is available.
- Upgrade 4.3.x to 4.3.3 or later.
- Upgrade 5.0.x to 5.0.3 or later.
- Check Spring vendor guidance if a listed upgrade path is unavailable.
Validation and detection
- Inventory applications running spring-cloud-config-server.
- Confirm deployed Spring Cloud Config versions against affected version ranges.
- Prioritize any externally reachable config server instances.
- Review access logs for unusual traversal-style URL patterns.
- Verify upgraded deployments report fixed branch versions.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-40982 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N3.95.2vmwareCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N3.94.2redhat-SADPVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Made public.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Reported to Red Hat.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-05-07T05:01:22.608Z: Reported to Red Hat.
- 2026-05-07T03:49:30.065Z: Made public.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-40982CVE reference, vmware
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-40982CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2467619CVE reference, redhat-SADP · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-40982.jsonCVE reference, redhat-SADP · x_sadp-csaf-vex
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.