CVE-2026-22738 — AI Deep Analysis Summary

Q: What is this vulnerability? (Essence + Consequences)

🚨 **Essence**: A critical SpEL injection flaw in VMware Spring AI. 💥 **Consequences**: Attackers can execute arbitrary code via malicious filter expressions. 📉 **Impact**: Full system compromise (High CVSS).

Q: Who is affected? (Versions/Components)

🏢 **Vendor**: VMware (Spring). 📦 **Product**: Spring AI. 📅 **Affected**: Versions **< 1.0.5** AND **< 1.1.4**. ✅ **Safe**: 1.0.5+ and 1.1.4+.

Q: What can hackers do? (Privileges/Data)

🕵️ **Attacker Action**: Remote Code Execution (RCE) via SpEL injection. 🔓 **Privileges**: System-level access (S:U, C:H, I:H, A:H). 💾 **Data**: Complete confidentiality and integrity loss.

Q: Is exploitation threshold high? (Auth/Config)

🚪 **Auth**: None required (PR:N). 🌐 **Network**: Remote (AV:N). 🎯 **Complexity**: Low (AC:L). 👤 **UI**: No interaction needed (UI:N). 📉 **Threshold**: **Very Low**.

Q: Is there a public Exp? (PoC/Wild Exploitation)

📜 **Public Exp**: No PoCs listed in data (pocs: []). 🔥 **Wild Exp**: Unknown status. ⚠️ **Risk**: High potential due to low exploitation barrier.

Q: How to self-check? (Features/Scanning)

🔎 **Check**: Scan for `SimpleVectorStore` usage. 🧪 **Test**: Look for SpEL filter expressions with user input. 🛠️ **Tool**: Use SAST tools to detect unsafe SpEL concatenation.

Q: Is it fixed officially? (Patch/Mitigation)

🛡️ **Fix**: Upgrade to **Spring AI 1.0.5** or **1.1.4**. 📝 **Ref**: [Spring Security Advisory](https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22738). ✅ **Status**: Patch available.

Q: What if no patch? (Workaround)

🚧 **Workaround**: Sanitize/Validate all input used in `SimpleVectorStore` filters. 🚫 **Block**: Prevent user-controlled strings from becoming SpEL keys. 🔄 **Isolate**: Restrict vector store access if possible.

Q: Is it urgent? (Priority Suggestion)

🔥 **Priority**: **CRITICAL**. ⏱️ **Urgency**: Immediate action required. 📉 **CVSS**: 9.8 (Critical). 🚀 **Action**: Patch now to prevent RCE.

Updated May 06, 2026 CVSS 9.8 · Critical

This is a summary of the AI-generated 10-question deep analysis. The full version (longer answers, follow-up Q&A, related CVEs) requires login. Read the full analysis →

Q1What is this vulnerability? (Essence + Consequences)

🚨 **Essence**: A critical SpEL injection flaw in VMware Spring AI. <br>💥 **Consequences**: Attackers can execute arbitrary code via malicious filter expressions. <br>📉 **Impact**: Full system compromise (High CVSS).

Q2Root Cause? (CWE/Flaw)

🔍 **Root Cause**: Unsafe handling of user-supplied values in `SimpleVectorStore`. <br>⚠️ **Flaw**: User input is directly used as keys in SpEL (Spring Expression Language) filters.…

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Q3Who is affected? (Versions/Components)

🏢 **Vendor**: VMware (Spring). <br>📦 **Product**: Spring AI. <br>📅 **Affected**: Versions **< 1.0.5** AND **< 1.1.4**. <br>✅ **Safe**: 1.0.5+ and 1.1.4+.

Q4What can hackers do? (Privileges/Data)

🕵️ **Attacker Action**: Remote Code Execution (RCE) via SpEL injection. <br>🔓 **Privileges**: System-level access (S:U, C:H, I:H, A:H). <br>💾 **Data**: Complete confidentiality and integrity loss.

Q5Is exploitation threshold high? (Auth/Config)

🚪 **Auth**: None required (PR:N). <br>🌐 **Network**: Remote (AV:N). <br>🎯 **Complexity**: Low (AC:L). <br>👤 **UI**: No interaction needed (UI:N). <br>📉 **Threshold**: **Very Low**.

Q6Is there a public Exp? (PoC/Wild Exploitation)

📜 **Public Exp**: No PoCs listed in data (pocs: []). <br>🔥 **Wild Exp**: Unknown status. <br>⚠️ **Risk**: High potential due to low exploitation barrier.

Q7How to self-check? (Features/Scanning)

🔎 **Check**: Scan for `SimpleVectorStore` usage. <br>🧪 **Test**: Look for SpEL filter expressions with user input. <br>🛠️ **Tool**: Use SAST tools to detect unsafe SpEL concatenation.

Q8Is it fixed officially? (Patch/Mitigation)

🛡️ **Fix**: Upgrade to **Spring AI 1.0.5** or **1.1.4**. <br>📝 **Ref**: [Spring Security Advisory](https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22738). <br>✅ **Status**: Patch available.

Q9What if no patch? (Workaround)

🚧 **Workaround**: Sanitize/Validate all input used in `SimpleVectorStore` filters. <br>🚫 **Block**: Prevent user-controlled strings from becoming SpEL keys. <br>🔄 **Isolate**: Restrict vector store access if possible.

Q10Is it urgent? (Priority Suggestion)

🔥 **Priority**: **CRITICAL**. <br>⏱️ **Urgency**: Immediate action required. <br>📉 **CVSS**: 9.8 (Critical). <br>🚀 **Action**: Patch now to prevent RCE.

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