Overview
This report provides a detailed analysis of the CVE-2025-41249 vulnerability, a potentially severe security flaw found in the Spring Framework’s annotation detection mechanism. This vulnerability might open the doors for unauthorized access, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. It primarily affects applications that use Spring Security’s @EnableMethodSecurity feature.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-41249
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.5)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Share secrets securely
Ameeba is private infrastructure for communication and sensitive work built on encrypted identity instead of exposed corporate identity systems.
Passwords, credentials, confidential files, screenshots, internal discussions, sensitive AI context, and private coordination should not become exposed across ordinary communication platforms.
- • Encrypted identity
- • Private Spaces for organizations and teams
- • End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, files, and notes
- • Sensitive AI work and protected collaboration
- • Built for information that cannot leak
Our mission is to secure human work alongside AI.
Product | Affected Versions
Spring Framework | All versions prior to patch
How the Exploit Works
An attacker exploiting this vulnerability can manipulate the annotation detection mechanism in the Spring Framework. Specifically, the flaw lies in the incorrect resolution of annotations on methods within type hierarchies with a parameterized super type with unbounded generics. If such annotations are used for authorization decisions, it can lead to unauthorized access.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:
public class Exploit {
public void exploitMethod() {
ApplicationContext context = new AnnotationConfigApplicationContext(VulnerableClass.class);
VulnerableClass vulnerableClass = context.getBean(VulnerableClass.class);
vulnerableClass.vulnerableMethod();
}
}In this conceptual example, the attacker leverages the incorrect annotation resolution to call a method that should have been protected by the @EnableMethodSecurity feature, leading to unauthorized actions.
Recommendations for Mitigation
It is crucial for system administrators and developers to immediately apply the vendor-provided patch to address this vulnerability. In the absence of the patch, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation. However, these measures only manage the risk and do not eliminate the underlying vulnerability; hence the patch’s immediate application is highly recommended.