CVE-2026-40972

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.

Published: 2026-04-28 Last update: 2026-04-30 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-40972 is rated Low Risk (36.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.06%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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-2026-40972

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 2026-05-29 0.04% 0.06% +0.02%
2 2026-05-22 0.05% 0.04% -0.01%
3 2026-04-28 — 0.05% —

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-40972

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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.
 1.6 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-40972

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-40972

GHSA-56v8-86gj-66jp · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Spring Boot DevTools remote secret comparison is vulnerable to timing attacks

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-40972

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vmware spring_boot < 2.7.33 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_boot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware spring_boot >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.19 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_boot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware spring_boot >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.16 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_boot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware spring_boot >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.14 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_boot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
vmware spring_boot >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_boot:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-40972

cvelogic Threat Intelligence