CVE-2014-3625 — Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory in Spring Framework

Description

Directory traversal vulnerability in Pivotal Spring Framework 3.0.4 through 3.2.x before 3.2.12, 4.0.x before 4.0.8, and 4.1.x before 4.1.2 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via unspecified vectors, related to static resource handling.

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

Debian

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Debian 14	libspring-java	3.2.13-1	—
Debian 13	libspring-java	3.2.13-1	—
Debian 12	libspring-java	3.2.13-1	—
Debian 8	libspring-java	3.0.6.RELEASE-17+deb8u1	DLA-1853-1

Ubuntu

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS	libspring-java	3.2.13-5ubuntu0.1~esm1	USN-4774-1
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS	libspring-java	3.0.6.RELEASE-13ubuntu0.1~esm1	USN-4774-1

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

GitHub 2 repositories

ilmila/springcss-cve-2014-3625 ★ 32 · Feb 3, 2016

spring mvc cve-2014-3625
gforresu/SpringPathTraversal ★ 0 · Oct 26, 2016

String MVC Framework Path-Traversal proof of concept. CVE-2014-3625

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Affected packages

Ecosystem	Package	Affected	Fixed	Record
Maven	org.springframework:spring-webmvc	>= 3.0.4, < 3.2.12	3.2.12	GHSA-hhm4-hwq6-3c6w
Maven	org.springframework:spring-webmvc	>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.8	4.0.8	GHSA-hhm4-hwq6-3c6w
Maven	org.springframework:spring-webmvc	>= 4.1.0, < 4.1.2	4.1.2	GHSA-hhm4-hwq6-3c6w

Advisories 2

USN-4774-1 libspring-java vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 29, 2026
DLA-1853-1 libspring-java - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026

References

RHSA-2015:0720 vendor-advisory
http://www.pivotal.io/security/cve-2014-3625
https://jira.spring.io/browse/SPR-12354
RHSA-2015:0236 vendor-advisory
[debian-lts-announce] 20190713 [SECURITY] [DLA 1853-1] libspring-java security update mailing-list