# CVE-2021-22051: Request injection in Spring Cloud Gateway

> Attackers can force Spring Cloud Gateway to make unauthorized requests to downstream services, potentially accessing internal resources.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2r2v-q399-qq93

## What is CVE-2021-22051?

CVE-2021-22051 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Spring Cloud Gateway, published on 8 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Applications using Spring Cloud Gateway are vulnerable to specifically crafted requests that could make an extra request on downstream services. Users of affected versions should apply the following mitigation: 3.0.x users should upgrade to 3.0.5+, 2.2.x users should upgrade to 2.2.10.RELEASE or newer.

Weakness: CWE-863 (Incorrect Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22051?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway` | Maven | From 2.2.0 | 2.2.10.RELEASE0.5 |
| `org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway` | Maven | From 2.2.0 | 2.2.10.RELEASE0.5 |
| `org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway` | Maven | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.5 |
| `org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway` | Maven | From 3.0.0 | 3.0.5 |

Products: Vmware Spring Cloud Gateway.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-22051?

Upgrade org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway to a fixed version for your release line: 2.2.10.RELEASE0.5 or 3.0.5.

## Is CVE-2021-22051 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22051 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Spring Cloud Gateway

- [CVE-2026-47825](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47825/): Spring Cloud Gateway Server Forwards Headers from Untrusted Proxies in certain situations (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2026-47879](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-47879/): Spring Cloud Gateway SSRF and native file access with gRPC (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2026-22750](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22750/): SSL bundle configuration silently bypassed in Spring Cloud Gateway (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-22051 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-22051 is a medium-severity server-side request forgery vulnerability in Spring Cloud Gateway, published on 8 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22051 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway (Maven): affected from 2.2.0; fixed in 2.2.10.RELEASE0.5
- org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway (Maven): affected from 2.2.0; fixed in 2.2.10.RELEASE0.5
- org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway (Maven): affected from 3.0.0; fixed in 3.0.5
- org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-gateway (Maven): affected from 3.0.0; fixed in 3.0.5

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-2021-22051/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22051/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-22051
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22051
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-22051

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22051/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.