● High · CVSS 8.6

How to Fix CVE-2026-22729: Security Vulnerability in Spring AI

Q: Is CVE-2026-22729 being actively exploited?

Not at the time of writing. It is not listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. That status can change, so monitor the vendor advisory and the KEV catalog if the system is exposed.

Q: How severe is CVE-2026-22729?

CVSS rates it 8.6 (High). Use that score to set your patch priority next to the other items in your queue.

Q: Do I have to take Spring AI offline to apply the patch?

It depends on the deployment. High-availability or clustered installs can usually patch one node at a time with no full outage. Standalone installs typically need a short restart. Always follow the vendor's documented upgrade steps.

Q: What if my vulnerability scanner still flags CVE-2026-22729 after I patch?

Re-run the scan after a service restart, then confirm the scanner's plugin set is up to date. Some scanners detect by banner version only and lag the official fix metadata by a release.

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

How to Fix CVE-2026-20879: Out-of-Bounds Write in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software — Out-of-Bounds Write in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software
How to Fix CVE-2026-22730: CVE-2026-22730: SQL Injection in Spring AI MariaDBFilterExpressionConverter — CVE-2026-22730: SQL Injection in Spring AI MariaDBFilterExpressionConverter
How to Fix CVE-2026-22740: CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Spring Framework , CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in Spring Framework
How to Fix CVE-2026-20794: Critical Vulnerability in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software , Critical Vulnerability in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software
How to Fix CVE-2026-20751: Critical Vulnerability in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software , Critical Vulnerability in Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

⚡ At a glance


Severity	CVSS 8.6, High
Actively exploited?	No
Affected	VMWARE Spring AI (1.0.x < 1.0.4, 1.1.x < 1.1.3)
Fixed in	1.0.4, 1.1.3
Type (CWE)	Not verified

What is CVE-2026-22729?

A JSONPath injection vulnerability in Spring AI's AbstractFilterExpressionConverter allows authenticated users to bypass metadata-based access controls through crafted filter expressions. User-controlled input passed to FilterExpressionBuilder is concatenated into JSONPath queries without proper escaping, enabling attackers to inject arbitrary JSONPath logic and access unauthorized documents. This vulnerability affects applications using vector stores that extend AbstractFilterExpressionConverter for multi-tenant isolation, role-based access control, or document filtering based on metadata.

In practical terms, a successful attacker gets a security bypass on the affected component. There is no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation listed in CISA's KEV catalog at the time of writing, but the CVSS rating still warrants prompt patching.

Am I affected?

You're affected if you run VMWARE Spring AI at any version in the Affected row above. Use these probes to find your installed build:


esxcli system version get   # ESXi
# or check the VAMI page on a vCSA at https://<vcsa>:5480

How to fix CVE-2026-22729

The primary fix is to upgrade to the patched build listed in the Fixed in row above (1.0.4, 1.1.3). Pick the platform that matches your install and run the commands below.

VMware ESXi (esxcli)


esxcli system version get
esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-1.0.4-standard -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml
reboot

VMware vcenter server appliance (vami / cli)


# Log in to https://<vcsa>:5480, navigate to Update, stage and install the patched build.
# Or via shell:
software-packages stage --url --acceptEulas
software-packages install --staged

PowerShell script (Windows) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


# Run as Administrator
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$log = "$env:ProgramData\SpringAI-Patch-CVE-2026-22729.log"
function Write-Log($msg) { "$(Get-Date -Format s)  $msg" | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append }

Write-Log "Starting CVE-2026-22729 remediation for VMWARE Spring AI"

# 1. Detect: replace the path/version probe with one valid for your install
$installed = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Spring*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
Write-Log "Detected version: $installed"

if (-not $installed) {
    Write-Log "Product not installed on this host; nothing to do."
    return
}
if ([version]$installed -ge [version]'1.0.4') {
    Write-Log "Already at fixed version $installed; no action needed."
    return
}

# 2. Backup configuration to a timestamped folder
$backup = "$env:ProgramData\SpringAI-Backup-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmm)"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backup -Force | Out-Null
# Adjust the source path to match your install
$src = "$env:ProgramFiles\VMWARE\Spring AI"
if (Test-Path $src) { Copy-Item -Path $src -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force }
Write-Log "Backed up config to $backup"

# 3. Apply the patched installer (place the verified file on a share or staging path)
$installer = "$env:TEMP\SpringAI-1.0.4.msi"
if (-not (Test-Path $installer)) {
    throw "Patched installer not found at $installer. Stage it from your software repo first."
}
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$installer`" /qn /norestart" -Wait
Write-Log "Installer finished"

# 4. Verify
$verify = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Spring*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
if ([version]$verify -ge [version]'1.0.4') {
    Write-Log "SUCCESS: now at $verify (>= 1.0.4)"
} else {
    Write-Log "FAILURE: still at $verify after install"
    exit 1
}

Bash script (Linux) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
LOG=/var/log/spring-ai-patch-cve-2026-22729.log
log()  { echo "$(date -Iseconds)  $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }

log "Starting CVE-2026-22729 remediation for VMWARE Spring AI"

# 1. Detect installed version (works for deb and rpm packages)
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null && dpkg -s spring-ai >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' spring-ai)
    PKG_MGR=apt
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null && rpm -q spring-ai >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' spring-ai)
    PKG_MGR=dnf
else
    log "spring-ai not installed via apt or rpm; check your package manager or vendor instructions."
    exit 0
fi
log "Detected: spring-ai=$CURRENT (manager=$PKG_MGR)"

# 2. Backup config
BACKUP=/var/backups/spring-ai-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/spring-ai /etc/${pkg%%-*} ; do
    [ -d "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" && log "Backed up $d to $BACKUP"
done

# 3. Upgrade
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    sudo apt-get update -y
    sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y spring-ai
else
    sudo dnf upgrade --security -y spring-ai
fi

# 4. Verify
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    NEW=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' spring-ai)
else
    NEW=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' spring-ai)
fi
log "After upgrade: $NEW"

# Optionally compare against 1.0.4 with dpkg --compare-versions or sort -V
log "Done. Restart the affected service if the package install did not."

If you can't patch immediately

These are runnable hardening commands. They reduce blast radius but they're not a replacement for the vendor patch.

No official vendor workaround is published for this CVE; patching is the only documented fix. The runnable hardening below is generic defense in depth, not a substitute for the patch.

Restrict the affected service to trusted networks (Linux):


# Vendor advisory: https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22729
# Replace <port> with the affected service port and 10.0.0.0/24 with your admin subnet
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -j DROP

Windows Firewall equivalent:


# Vendor advisory: https://spring.io/security/cve-2026-22729
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Allow affected service from admin subnet' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort <port> -RemoteAddress 10.0.0.0/24
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Block affected service from everywhere else' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort <port>

How to verify the fix worked

Run the version probe again and confirm the running build matches the Fixed in row above.


esxcli system version get

Expected output: Version: 1.0.4 (or the build number listed in the advisory).

Then re-run any vulnerability scanner you used previously and confirm the finding for CVE-2026-22729 has cleared. Sweep your logs for the indicators of compromise listed in the vendor or CISA advisory, especially if the system was internet-reachable during the disclosure window.

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2026-22729 being actively exploited?