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Spring AI CVE-2026-59279

| EUVDEUVD-2026-63931 HIGH
Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770)
2026-08-21 security@vmware.com GHSA-2g9x-r8w8-qjff
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: vmware
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Identify exposed MCP HTTP endpoint
  2. Delivery
    Issue repeated unauthenticated session-init requests
  3. Exploit
    Server allocates unbounded session objects
  4. Execution
    JVM heap progressively exhausted
  5. Persist
    Server crashes or becomes unresponsive
  6. Impact
    Legitimate clients denied service

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource allocation limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

The Spring AI application must be running version 2.0.0 with the MCP Streamable HTTP server transport enabled - either the WebFlux or WebMvc variant. The default configuration with no client authentication is required; operators who have already added Spring Security authentication in front of the MCP endpoint are not exploitable via this vector. The attacker must have network connectivity to the HTTP port hosting the MCP transport. Exploitation is limited to Availability impact only - Confidentiality and Integrity are unaffected. There is no requirement for any special tool or pre-existing session; standard HTTP clients suffice.

Impact

The CVSS 7.5 High score is well-calibrated for this vulnerability: AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N reflects that exploitation requires nothing beyond network connectivity and the ability to issue HTTP requests. The Availability:High rating is appropriate because memory exhaustion crashes or renders the entire server unresponsive. Real-world risk is heavily gated by exposure: Spring AI's MCP HTTP endpoint is typically deployed in internal AI-assistant or developer tooling environments rather than internet-facing production services, which meaningfully reduces the attack surface compared to the raw CVSS score implies. No EPSS data was provided in the source intelligence, and no CISA KEV listing exists, suggesting exploitation has not been observed in the wild at time of analysis. For organizations where the MCP endpoint is internet-reachable or accessible from untrusted network segments, the operational risk is high given the trivial attack complexity.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker identifies an internet-exposed or intranet-reachable Spring AI MCP Streamable HTTP endpoint running version 2.0.0. Without providing any credentials, the attacker runs a script that continuously issues HTTP requests to the endpoint's session-initiation path, causing the server to allocate and retain a new session object for each request. As the heap fills over minutes to hours (depending on available memory and request rate), the JVM garbage collector becomes unable to reclaim the orphaned session objects, eventually triggering out-of-memory errors that crash the server or cause severe degradation for all legitimate AI application users.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 21, 2026

Unbounded session accumulation in Spring AI 2.0.0's MCP Streamable HTTP server transport enables remote unauthenticated attackers to exhaust server memory, ultimately causing a Denial of Service that disrupts all legitimate clients. Both WebFlux and WebMvc transport variants are affected because neither enforces a session cap nor mandates client authentication by default. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, but the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) reflects trivially simple exploitation from any network with access to the MCP endpoint.

RemediationAI

No vendor-released patched version was identified in the available data at time of analysis; refer to the Spring Security advisory at https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-59279 for the latest patch availability and recommended upgrade version. As a compensating control, operators should enforce authentication on the MCP HTTP endpoint immediately - Spring Security can be configured to require a valid bearer token or client certificate before session state is allocated, directly neutralizing the unauthenticated exploitation path. Additionally, placing a reverse proxy (e.g., nginx, HAProxy) in front of the MCP endpoint with connection-rate limiting and maximum concurrent session rules can throttle an attacker's ability to exhaust memory. If the MCP endpoint does not need to be network-accessible, binding it to localhost or a private VLAN substantially reduces exposure. Each workaround trades off developer convenience or deployment flexibility for attack surface reduction.

Affected VersionsENISA

Spring AI 2.0.0

Affected Packages

euvd spring_ai no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Spring AI is VMware/Broadcom's framework for integrating AI model capabilities into Spring-based Java applications. The affected component implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over HTTP, offering two transport variants: WebFlux (reactive, non-blocking) and WebMvc (servlet-based). Both variants maintain server-side session state for connected MCP clients but, in the 2.0.0 release, impose no upper bound on concurrent or accumulated sessions (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling). Because the default configuration also omits client authentication, any remote actor can create new sessions without restriction. Over time, heap memory fills with orphaned session objects - a classic slow-loris-style resource exhaustion pattern applied to session state rather than connections.

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Severity by source

Vendor (vmware) PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Network-reachable with no authentication or complexity barrier; impact is Availability-only, as session accumulation causes DoS with no confidentiality or integrity exposure.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (vmware).

CVSS VectorVendor: vmware

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

The MCP Streamable HTTP server transport (WebFlux and WebMvc variants) does not place any limit on the number of sessions it retains, and by default does not require clients to be authenticated. As a result, a remote attacker can cause the server to accumulate an unbounded number of sessions over time, gradually exhausting available memory and ultimately causing a Denial of Service that affects all legitimate clients. Affected versions: Spring AI: 2.0.0

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Spring AI 2.0.0's MCP server transport contains an unauthenticated remote memory exhaustion vulnerability that allows attackers without credentials to crash the application and deny service to all legitimate users. Organizations running this version with network-accessible MCP endpoints face immediate risk to application availability and operational continuity.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: enforce network segmentation and firewall rules restricting MCP endpoint access by IP whitelist; deploy reverse proxy with aggressive rate-limiting, connection caps, and timeout enforcement; implement continuous monitoring and alerting on session counts, memory utilization, and connection rate anomalies; prepare runbook procedures to rapidly disable MCP endpoints upon detection of resource exhaustion. These controls substantially reduce but do not eliminate attack surface; immediate patching is required when vendor releases a fix.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 68% exploitable
Prevalence
Medium
newer Spring AI module, limited enterprise footprint so far
Social Media
1
Sightings
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

38
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

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