Vmware Spring Web Services up to 3.1.8/4.0.18/4.1.3/5.0.1 xml external entity reference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as problematic has been detected in Vmware Spring Web Services up to 3.1.8/4.0.18/4.1.3/5.0.1. This vulnerability affects unknown code. This manipulation causes xml external entity reference. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-40998. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Vmware Spring Web Services up to 3.1.8/4.0.18/4.1.3/5.0.1. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown functionality. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a xml external entity reference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-611. The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Jaxp13XPathTemplate evaluated XPath expressions for StreamSource and SAXSource inputs using a code path that parsed attacker-controlled XML with the JDK's default DocumentBuilderFactory behavior instead of Spring's hardened parser configuration. Applications that evaluate XPath against untrusted XML payloads could therefore be exposed to XML External Entity (XXE) style attacks. Affected versions: Spring Web Services 5.0.0 through 5.0.1; 4.1.0 through 4.1.3; 4.0.0 through 4.0.18; 3.1.0 through 3.1.8.

It is possible to read the advisory at spring.io. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-40998 since 04/16/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/11/2026).

Upgrading to version 3.1.9, 4.0.19, 4.1.4 or 5.0.2 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-36208). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• Vmware

Name

• Spring Web Services

Version

• 3.1.0
• 3.1.1
• 3.1.2
• 3.1.3
• 3.1.4
• 3.1.5
• 3.1.6
• 3.1.7
• 3.1.8
• 4.0.0
• 4.0.1
• 4.0.2
• 4.0.3
• 4.0.4
• 4.0.5
• 4.0.6
• 4.0.7
• 4.0.8
• 4.0.9
• 4.0.10
• 4.0.11
• 4.0.12
• 4.0.13
• 4.0.14
• 4.0.15
• 4.0.16
• 4.0.17
• 4.0.18
• 4.1.0
• 4.1.1
• 4.1.2
• 4.1.3
• 5.0.0
• 5.0.1

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.vmware.com/

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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