# CVE-2026-22731: Authentication Bypass under Actuator Health groups paths

> Attackers can bypass authentication on protected endpoints if they are configured under specific Actuator Health Group paths.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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:** 19 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 20 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** ECHO-5415-efe2-6770, GHSA-8hfc-fq58-r658, MINI-7m7p-wv7r-x7x5, ROOT-APP-MAVEN-CVE-2026-22731

## What is CVE-2026-22731?

CVE-2026-22731 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Spring Boot, published on 19 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Spring Boot applications with Actuator can be vulnerable to an "Authentication Bypass" vulnerability when an application endpoint that requires authentication is declared under a specific path, already configured for a Health Group additional path.
This issue affects Spring Boot: from 4.0 before 4.0.3, from 3.5 before 3.5.11, from 3.4 before 3.4.15.
This CVE is similar but not equivalent to CVE-2026-22733, as the conditions for exploit and vulnerable versions are different.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality), CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-22731?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 3.4.0 to 3.4.13 | None |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 3.4.0 to 3.4.13 | None |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 3.5.0 | 3.5.12 |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 3.5.0 | 3.5.12 |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 4.0.0-M1 | 4.0.4 |
| `org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator` | Maven | From 4.0.0-M1 | 4.0.4 |

Products: Vmware Spring Boot.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-22731?

Upgrade org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator to a fixed version for your release line: 3.5.12 or 4.0.4.

## Is CVE-2026-22731 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-22731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Spring Boot

- [CVE-2023-20873](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20873/): Spring Boot Security Bypass with Wildcard Pattern Matching on Cloud Foundry (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-40976](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40976/): Spring Boot's default security filter chain has no authorization rule with Actuator but without Health (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-22733](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22733/): Authentication Bypass under Actuator CloudFoundry endpoints (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2022-27772](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27772/): Temporary Directory Hijacking to Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in org.springframework.boot:spring-boot (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-40972](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-40972/): Spring Boot DevTools remote secret comparison is vulnerable to timing attacks (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-22731 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-22731 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Spring Boot, published on 19 Mar 2026. 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-2026-22731 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 3.4.0 up to 3.4.13; no fix listed
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 3.4.0 up to 3.4.13; no fix listed
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 3.5.0; fixed in 3.5.12
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 3.5.0; fixed in 3.5.12
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 4.0.0-M1; fixed in 4.0.4
- org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator (Maven): affected from 4.0.0-M1; fixed in 4.0.4

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-2026-22731/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22731/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-22731
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-22731
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-22731

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-22731/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.