# CVE-2017-4971: Insecure Default Initialization of Resource in Pivotal Spring Web Flow

> Attackers can execute malicious code via EL expressions in Spring Web Flow if Spring binding is explicitly enabled without proper data binding mappings.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.9 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Jun 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fg9w-cffm-pmh2

## What is CVE-2017-4971?

CVE-2017-4971 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Spring Web Flow, published on 13 Jun 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Pivotal Spring Web Flow through 2.4.4. Applications that do not change the value of the MvcViewFactoryCreator useSpringBinding property which is disabled by default (i.e., set to 'false') can be vulnerable to malicious EL expressions in view states that process form submissions but do not have a sub-element to declare explicit data binding property mappings.

Weakness: CWE-1188 (Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-4971?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow` | Maven | From 2.4.0 | 2.4.5 |
| `org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow` | Maven | From 2.4.0 | 2.4.5 |

Products: Broadcom Spring Web Flow.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-4971?

Upgrade org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow to 2.4.5 or later.

## Is CVE-2017-4971 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-4971 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- cve-2017-4971 (github_poc): https://github.com/cved-sources/cve-2017-4971

## Other vulnerabilities in Spring Web Flow

- [CVE-2026-40985](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40985/): Data Binding Vulnerability in Spring Web Flow with Unified EL Parser (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2017-8039](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8039/): Insecure Default Initialization of Resource in Pivotal Spring Web Flow (medium 5.9)
- [CVE-2026-40986](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40986/): Spring Web Flow JS RemotingHandler renders non-HTML Response as HTML (medium 4.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-4971 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-4971 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in Spring Web Flow, published on 13 Jun 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-4971 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow (Maven): affected from 2.4.0; fixed in 2.4.5
- org.springframework.webflow:spring-webflow (Maven): affected from 2.4.0; fixed in 2.4.5

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4971/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4971/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-4971
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-4971
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-4971

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-4971/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.