Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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ReconCompromise or control Initializr endpoint
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DeliveryInject JavaScript into dependency tooltip payload
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ExploitDeveloper opens New Spring Starter Project wizard
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InstallDeveloper configures wizard to use attacker-controlled endpoint
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C2Developer hovers dependency checkbox triggering tooltip render
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ExecuteInjected script executes in SWT embedded browser
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ImpactUI spoofing or outbound network beacon fires
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Output encoding, context-aware escaping
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Initial Access, Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that the developer's Spring Tools for Eclipse instance is configured to use a Spring Initializr endpoint that the attacker controls or has compromised - this is the non-default, non-trivial prerequisite that drives the AC:H rating. The developer must then open the New Spring Starter Project wizard and hover over at least one dependency checkbox to trigger tooltip rendering. The CVSS PR:N reflects that the attacker requires no authentication to the developer's machine - the attack is delivered via the compromised server. UI:R confirms that the developer must actively interact with the tooltip UI element. Exploitation is limited to developers using Spring Tools for Eclipse ≤ 5.2.0; developers using official, uncompromised Initializr endpoints (https://start.spring.io) are not exposed under normal conditions. The impact ceiling - explicitly stated by the vendor - is in-IDE UI spoofing and outbound network beaconing, not host-level code execution. |
| Impact | The CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.2 (Medium) with vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N accurately reflects the real-world risk profile. AC:H is the critical limiting factor: exploitation is gated on the attacker first controlling or compromising the Initializr endpoint configured by the developer - a prerequisite that substantially reduces opportunistic exploitation probability. UI:R further requires the developer to actively hover over a tooltip in the wizard. No EPSS score was provided in the input data; without it, base-rate exploitation probability cannot be quantified. No CISA KEV listing exists, and no public proof-of-concept code has been identified, both of which reduce urgency. The 'RCE' tag in the ENISA intelligence record is misleading and contradicted by the vendor description, which explicitly caps impact at UI spoofing and outbound network beaconing - not host OS code execution. The practical real-world risk is therefore lower than the tag suggests: this is a developer-targeted supply-chain-style attack requiring a compromised toolchain endpoint, with limited post-exploitation capability once triggered. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker who has compromised an organization's internal Spring Initializr mirror (or who has performed DNS/BGP hijacking of a custom endpoint) injects malicious JavaScript into the tooltip HTML served for a dependency entry. When a developer opens the New Spring Starter Project wizard, configures it to use that endpoint, and hovers over a dependency checkbox to read the tooltip, the injected script silently executes inside the SWT embedded browser - enabling the attacker to spoof wizard UI elements or beacon the developer's network identity and IDE context to an external server. No public proof-of-concept has been identified, and exploitation requires controlling the upstream endpoint. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 30, 2026
Script injection in Spring Tools for Eclipse's New Spring Starter Project wizard allows arbitrary JavaScript execution inside the IDE's embedded SWT browser when a developer hovers over dependency checkboxes rendered from a compromised or attacker-controlled Initializr endpoint. Affected are all versions through 5.2.0, per the vendor (VMware/Spring) advisory. Despite the 'RCE' tag in associated intelligence, the vendor explicitly bounds the impact to in-IDE UI spoofing and outbound network beaconing - not host-level code execution. No public exploit code and no CISA KEV listing have been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
The primary remediation is to upgrade Spring Tools for Eclipse to a version beyond 5.2.0, which is the boundary confirmed by the vendor advisory at https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-59328 - however, an exact fixed version number is not independently confirmed from the available input data (see Confidence Notes). As a compensating control pending upgrade, developers should verify that their configured Initializr endpoint is set to the official https://start.spring.io and has not been altered to point to an internal or third-party mirror that could be compromised; changing this setting is low-risk and eliminates the primary attack vector. Organizations running private Initializr instances should audit those deployments for integrity. Disabling or restricting the New Spring Starter Project wizard entirely is a high-impact workaround that eliminates exposure but removes key IDE functionality.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
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 Tools for Eclipse (CPE: cpe:2.3:a:spring:spring_tools_for_eclipse:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) embeds a native SWT Browser component to render rich tooltip content for dependency options in the New Spring Starter Project wizard. The wizard fetches dependency metadata - including tooltip HTML - from a configurable Spring Initializr endpoint over HTTPS. Because JavaScript is enabled in the SWT Browser and the fetched tooltip content is rendered without sanitization, an attacker who controls or has compromised that Initializr endpoint can inject malicious script payloads into the tooltip markup. When the IDE renders the tooltip (triggered by the developer hovering a checkbox), the injected script executes within the embedded browser's process context. No CWE has been formally assigned, but the root cause class is consistent with CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation / Cross-site Scripting) applied to an embedded browser surface rather than a traditional web context.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
AC:H because exploitation requires a pre-compromised Initializr endpoint; UI:R for required tooltip hover; C:L/I:L reflect beaconing and spoofing only, no availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (vmware).
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionNVD
Spring Tools for Eclipse renders Spring Boot starter wizard dependency tooltips in a native embedded browser (SWT Browser) with JavaScript enabled. Using untrusted and compromised Initializr endpoints for the Spring Boot starter wizard can result in arbitrary script execution inside the embedded browser when a developer hovers a dependency checkbox in the New Spring Starter Project wizard. Impact is limited to in-IDE UI spoofing and outbound network beaconing rather than full code execution. Affected Spring Products and Versions: Spring Tools for Eclipse: 5.2.0 and earlier
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Cross-Site Scripting occurs when an application accepts untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or encoding.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
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EUVD-2026-50975
GHSA-xf7f-942v-xgqh
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB