Spring Cloud Config Secrets Manager Bypass - Exposes GCP Secrets (v3.1-5.0)
CVE-2026-40981 Published on May 7, 2026
When using Google Secrets Manager as a backend for the Spring Cloud Config server a client can craft a request to the config server potentially exposing secrets from unintended GCP projects. Spring Cloud Config 3.1.x: affected from 3.1.0 through 3.1.13 (inclusive); upgrade to 3.1.14 or greater (Enterprise Support Only). Spring Cloud Config 4.1.x: affected from 4.1.0 through 4.1.9 (inclusive); upgrade to 4.1.10 or greater (Enterprise Support Only). Spring Cloud Config 4.2.x: affected from 4.2.0 through 4.2.6 (inclusive); upgrade to 4.2.7 or greater (Enterprise Support Only). Spring Cloud Config 4.3.x: affected from 4.3.0 through 4.3.2 (inclusive); upgrade to 4.3.3 or greater. Spring Cloud Config 5.0.x: affected from 5.0.0 through 5.0.2 (inclusive); upgrade to 5.0.3 or greater.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-40981 can be exploited with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity and availability.
Weakness Type
What is an Insecure Direct Object Reference / IDOR Vulnerability?
The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.
CVE-2026-40981 has been classified to as an Insecure Direct Object Reference / IDOR vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-40981
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Affected Versions
Spring Cloud Config:- Version 3.1.0 and below 3.1.14 is affected.
- Version 4.1.0 and below 4.1.10 is affected.
- Version 4.2.0 and below 4.2.7 is affected.
- Version 4.3.0 and below 4.3.3 is affected.
- Version 5.0.0 and below 5.0.3 is affected.