CVE-2025-22232: Authentication Bypass in Spring Cloud Config – What You Need to Know

Overview: What Is CVE-2025-22232?

On April 8, 2025, a medium-severity vulnerability (CVE-2025-22232) was disclosed in Spring Cloud Config, a core tool used by developers to manage externalized configuration in distributed systems. This authorization bypass issue could allow attackers to access protected configuration data in multi-tenant environments—without proper authentication.

Affected systems include versions:

• 2.2.0 – 2.2.8
  
  
• 3.0.0 – 3.0.7
  
  
• 3.1.0 – 3.1.9
  
  
• 4.0.0 – 4.0.5
  
  
• 4.1.0 – 4.1.5
  
  
• 4.2.0
  
  

The issue is patched in NES for Spring Cloud Config v3.1.12, now available from HeroDevs.

 Full vulnerability listing on HeroDevs

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How CVE-2025-22232 Works

This vulnerability stems from how Spring Cloud Config Server integrates with HashiCorp Vault for secret management. Specifically, it relates to the misuse of Vault tokens passed via the X-Config-Token header.

Here’s the problem:

• The Spring Cloud Config Server caches the first Vault token it receives—ignoring subsequent ones.
  
  
• Even if new clients send their own X-Config-Token headers, the server continues using the original token.
  
  
• This breaks token isolation across clients, potentially allowing one user to access another’s secrets.
  
  

That’s an authorization bypass, classified under CAPEC-115, and it's dangerous—especially in multi-tenant or fine-grained access control environments.

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Why This Matters: Risks & Real-World Impact

If you're running one of the affected versions, here's what's at stake:

• Unintended Data Exposure – Vault secrets intended for one client could be served to another.
  
  
• Security Policy Violation – You may unknowingly break compliance rules tied to token-based access controls.
  
  
• Inconsistent Configuration State – Token reuse can lead to unexpected configuration mismatches in dynamic environments.
  
  

This isn't just a theoretical risk—it’s a silent security hole that can go unnoticed until your secrets leak.

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Who Is Affected?

Any application using:

• Spring Cloud Config Server
  
  
• Vault as the backend config source
  
  
• Token-based access via X-Config-Token headers
  

...is potentially vulnerable.

Older versions of Spring Cloud Config—especially those under 4.0.x—are no longer community-supported. That means you won’t get a fix unless you have a commercial partner like HeroDevs.

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How to Fix It

You have three options:

1. Upgrade to a supported version (Spring Cloud Config v3.1.12+).
2. Follow the mitigation steps here.
3. Adopt HeroDevs’ Never-Ending Support (NES) for Spring to get post-EOL security fixes—including this one.
   
   

With NES for Spring, we’ve already patched CVE-2025-22232, and we’re continuing to secure Spring’s legacy versions with:

• Ongoing Security Fixes
  
  
• Expert Engineering Support
  
  
• Compliance Assurance
  
  
• Compatibility with modern platforms
  
  

Step-by-Step Reproduction (For Developers)

To see the issue in action:

1. Send a request to Spring Cloud Config Server with a Vault token in the X-Config-Token header (Token A).
   
   
2. The server uses Token A for Vault authentication.
   
   
3. Now send another request—with a different token (Token B).
   
   
4. The server ignores Token B, still using Token A.
   
   

Result: Clients don’t get isolated access. Security boundaries are broken.
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Conclusion: Protect Against Spring Cloud Config Vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-22232 is a wake-up call for any team relying on legacy Spring Cloud Config infrastructure. Token misuse, even unintentional, can expose sensitive secrets and break trust boundaries in modern architectures.

At HeroDevs, we offer a reliable safety net with Never-Ending Support for Spring—so you’re protected even when the open-source community moves on.

🔒 Want to stay secure?
Explore HeroDevs' NES for Spring or contact our team for a custom evaluation.