Severity by source
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Scope changes to Spring Boot app where RCE is achieved; no privileges required to read a publicly committed VCS file; UI:R for developer's act of sharing/committing config.
Primary rating from Vendor (vmware).
CVSS VectorVendor: vmware
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
Spring Tools for Eclipse stores the Spring Boot DevTools remote secret (spring.devtools.remote.secret) as a plain string attribute on the "Spring Boot DevTools Client" launch configuration. Eclipse persists launch configuration attributes as cleartext XML, either to workspace metadata or, if the user marks the configuration as a shared file, directly into the project tree where it can be committed to version control. This secret is the sole credential protecting the DevTools remote restart/reload endpoint, which accepts and executes arbitrary class bytes on the target application. Anyone able to read the .launch file (via filesystem access, a workspace backup, or a shared VCS repository) can extract the secret and use it to achieve remote code execution against the associated Spring Boot application. Affected Spring Products and Versions: Spring Tools for Eclipse: 5.2.0 and earlier
AnalysisAI
Cleartext credential storage in Spring Tools for Eclipse 5.2.0 and earlier exposes the Spring Boot DevTools remote secret (spring.devtools.remote.secret) in Eclipse .launch XML configuration files, which Eclipse persists to either workspace metadata or - critically - directly into the project tree when marked as a shared configuration. The exposed secret is the sole credential protecting the DevTools remote restart/reload endpoint, which accepts and executes arbitrary class bytes, converting a credential-disclosure flaw into a remote code execution primitive against the associated Spring Boot application. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but the attack technique is mechanically straightforward once the secret is retrieved from a committed VCS file or accessible workspace backup.
Technical ContextAI
Spring Boot DevTools ships a remote development feature that allows an IDE to push class and resource changes to a running application over HTTP, authenticated solely by a shared secret configured as spring.devtools.remote.secret. Spring Tools for Eclipse (STS) stores this secret as a plain string attribute in the Eclipse launch configuration format - XML files with a .launch extension. Eclipse persists these files either to workspace-scoped .metadata/ storage or, when a developer marks the configuration as a shared resource, directly into the project directory structure. Project-scoped .launch files are routinely version-controlled alongside source code. The affected product is identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:spring:spring_tools_for_eclipse:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covering all versions through 5.2.0. The root cause aligns with CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information), though NVD lists CWE as N/A for this entry: a security credential is serialized in human-readable format into a file artifact whose access control assumptions can easily be violated by normal developer workflow (sharing or committing the configuration).
RemediationAI
Upgrade Spring Tools for Eclipse to the version that addresses CVE-2026-59327 once released - consult the vendor advisory at https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-59327 for the exact fixed version, as the patched release number is not independently confirmed in the available data. As immediate compensating controls: audit all version-controlled repositories for committed .launch files referencing spring.devtools.remote.secret and, if found, rotate the secret value immediately in both the application configuration and the launch file, then remove the historical commit from VCS history using git filter-repo or BFG Repo Cleaner (note: this requires force-pushing to shared remotes and coordinating with all collaborators). Add *.launch to .gitignore to prevent future accidental commits; this has no operational side effect. If DevTools remote is not actively required, disable the feature entirely by removing spring.devtools.remote.secret from all application*.properties / application*.yml files and ensuring the spring-boot-devtools artifact is excluded from production classpath configurations - this eliminates the second-stage RCE vector entirely. Where DevTools remote must remain active, restrict network access to the DevTools remote port at the perimeter or host-based firewall to reduce exposure of the second-stage endpoint, noting this does not address the credential-disclosure vulnerability itself.
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-50974
GHSA-xg26-wm7c-xr7g