CVE-2026-40981Network attack vector

Unauthenticated secret disclosure via client-controlled project ID

Published May 7, 2026 · Updated May 7, 2026

Authorization bypass in affected Spring Cloud Config releases allows remote attackers to read secrets from unintended GCP projects. GoogleSecretManagerV1AccessStrategy accepts a client-controlled X-Project-ID header and queries that project with the Config Server's credentials without enforcing a project allowlist. The server must use Google Secret Manager with token-mandatory disabled, and its credentials must read the targeted project; exposure is limited to returned configuration secrets.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.43%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authorization bypass in affected Spring Cloud Config releases allows remote attackers to read secrets from unintended GCP projects. GoogleSecretManagerV1AccessStrategy accepts a client-controlled X-Project-ID header and queries that project with the Config Server's credentials without enforcing a project allowlist. The server must use Google Secret Manager with token-mandatory disabled, and its credentials must read the targeted project; exposure is limited to returned configuration secrets.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-40981
Published
May 7, 2026
Updated
May 7, 2026
Vendor
Spring
Product
Spring Cloud Config
Classifications
CWE-639
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 7, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 7, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.1.0 <3.1.14
  2. Affected versionversion=4.1.0 <4.1.10
  3. Affected versionversion=4.2.0 <4.2.7
  4. Affected versionversion=4.3.0 <4.3.3
  5. Affected versionversion=5.0.0 <5.0.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Spring · Spring Cloud Configversion=3.1.0 <3.1.14; version=4.1.0 <4.1.10; version=4.2.0 <4.2.7; version=4.3.0 <4.3.3; version=5.0.0 <5.0.3

Published CVSS scores

7.5VMwareCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-639Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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