CVE-2021-22112

Spring Security 5.4.x prior to 5.4.4, 5.3.x prior to 5.3.8.RELEASE, 5.2.x prior to 5.2.9.RELEASE, and older unsupported versions can fail to save the SecurityContext if it is changed more than once in a single request.A malicious user cannot cause the bug to happen (it must be programmed in). However, if the application's intent is to only allow the user to run with elevated privileges in a small portion of the application, the bug can be leveraged to extend those privileges to the rest of the application.

Published: 2021-02-23 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-22112 is rated Moderate Risk (62/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.98%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-22112

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-26 1.07% 0.98% -0.09%
2 2026-05-22 0.98% 1.07% +0.09%
3 2025-11-21 0.98%

Full EPSS history (23 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-22112

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-22112

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2021-22112

GHSA-gq28-h5vg-8prx · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Privilege escalation in spring security

OS Trackers for CVE-2021-22112

vendor priority summary link
redhat high https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2021-22112

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-22112

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
pivotal_software spring_security < 5.2.9 cpe:2.3:a:pivotal_software:spring_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pivotal_software spring_security >= 5.3.0, < 5.3.8 cpe:2.3:a:pivotal_software:spring_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware spring_security >= 5.4.0, < 5.4.4 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_security:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_element_manager >= 8.2.0, <= 8.2.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_element_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_interactive_session_recorder 6.3 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_interactive_session_recorder:6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_interactive_session_recorder 6.4 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_interactive_session_recorder:6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_unified_inventory_management 7.4.1 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_unified_inventory_management:7.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle hospitality_cruise_shipboard_property_management_system 20.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:hospitality_cruise_shipboard_property_management_system:20.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle insurance_policy_administration 11.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:insurance_policy_administration:11.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle mysql_enterprise_monitor <= 8.0.25 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:mysql_enterprise_monitor:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-22112

URL Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/02/19/7 Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r163b3e4e39803882f5be05ee8606b2b9812920e196daa2a82997ce14%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2cb05e499807900ba23e539643eead9c5f0652fd271f223f89da1804%40%3Cpluto-scm.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r37423ec7eea340e92a409452c35b649dce02fdc467f0b3f52086c177%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r3868207b967f926819fe3aa8d33f1666429be589bb4a62104a49f4e3%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r390783b3b1c59b978131ac08390bf77fbb3863270cbde59d5b0f5fde%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r413e380088c427f56102968df89ef2f336473e1b56b7d4b3a571a378%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r89aa1b48a827f5641310305214547f1d6b2101971a49b624737c497f%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra53677224fe4f04c2599abc88032076faa18dc84b329cdeba85d4cfc%40%3Cpluto-scm.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra6389b1b82108a3b6bbcd22979f7665fd437c2a3408c9509a15a9ca1%40%3Cpluto-dev.portals.apache.org%3E
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/redbd004a503b3520ae5746c2ab5e93fd7da807a8c128e60d2002cd9b%40%3Cissues.nifi.apache.org%3E
https://tanzu.vmware.com/security/cve-2021-22112 Vendor Advisory
https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.html Patch Third Party Advisory
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