# CVE-2022-23463: SpEL Injection in Nepxion Discovery

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code via SpEL injection in Nepxion Discovery's expression resolver, requiring immediate attention from Spring Cloud users.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 22 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q979-9m39-23mq

## What is CVE-2022-23463?

CVE-2022-23463 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Nepxion Discover, published on 24 Sep 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Nepxion Discovery is a solution for Spring Cloud. Discover is vulnerable to SpEL Injection in discovery-commons. DiscoveryExpressionResolver’s eval method is evaluating expression with a StandardEvaluationContext, allowing the expression to reach and interact with Java classes such as java.lang.Runtime, leading to Remote Code Execution. There is no patch available for this issue at time of publication. There are no known workarounds.

Weakness: CWE-917 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-23463?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.nepxion:discovery. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `com.nepxion:discovery` | Maven | All versions to 6.16.2 | None |
| `com.nepxion:discovery` | Maven | All versions to 6.16.2 | None |

Products: Nepxion Discovery.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-23463?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-23463 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-23463 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-23463 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nepxion Discover

- [CVE-2022-23464](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23464/): Potential Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in Nepxion Discovery (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-23463 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-23463 is a critical code injection vulnerability in Nepxion Discover, published on 24 Sep 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-23463 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- com.nepxion:discovery (Maven): affected all versions up to 6.16.2; no fix listed
- com.nepxion:discovery (Maven): affected all versions up to 6.16.2; no fix listed

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-2022-23463/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23463/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-23463
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23463
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-23463

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23463/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.