CVE-2026-40977

When an application is configured to use `ApplicationPidFileWriter`, a local attacker with write access to the PID file's location can corrupt one file on the host each time the application is started. 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); PID file / symlink behavior (`ApplicationPidFileWriter`). Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.

Published: 2026-04-28 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-40977 is rated Low Risk (19.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.11%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

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-2026-40977

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 2026-06-15 0.01% 0.11% +0.10%
2 2026-04-28 0.01%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-40977

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
0.5 4.2 [email protected]
6.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
0.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-40977

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-40977

GHSA-5368-6h4h-gr29 · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: maven — Spring Boot's PID file write follows symlinks at predictable default path

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-40977

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-40977

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-40977

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-2026-40977

cvelogic Threat Intelligence