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Critical

Spring Boot Cassandra SSL auto-configuration disables TLS hostname verification

IdentifiersCVE-2026-40974CWE-297

CVE-2026-40974 is a vulnerability in Spring Boot's Cassandra auto-configuration for SSL/TLS connections. In affected versions, the Cassandra SSL auto-configuration establishes TLS connections without performing hostname verification on the Cassandra server certificate. As a result, the client may accept a certificate that chains to a trusted CA even when the certificate's subject or subject alternative name does not match the intended Cassandra host. The issue affects Spring Boot 4.0.0 through 4.0.5, 3.5.0 through 3.5.13, 3.4.0 through 3.4.15, 3.3.0 through 3.3.18, and 2.7.0 through 2.7.32; unsupported versions are also affected according to the vendor advisory.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

The lack of TLS hostname verification weakens the authentication guarantees of TLS for Cassandra connections and can enable man-in-the-middle or endpoint impersonation attacks. An attacker who can intercept traffic or present a fraudulent but otherwise trusted certificate for a different hostname may be able to impersonate the Cassandra server to the Spring Boot application. Depending on the application and data flows, this can expose Cassandra credentials, permit observation or modification of application-to-database traffic, and undermine confidentiality and integrity of data exchanged over the connection.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

No vendor workaround is provided in the advisory. If immediate patching is not possible, avoid relying on the affected Cassandra SSL auto-configuration for hostname validation and enforce hostname verification through custom configuration where feasible. Reducing exposure to on-path interception and restricting network paths between the application and Cassandra may also reduce exploitability, but these measures do not replace a fixed release.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Spring Boot to a fixed version appropriate for the deployed branch: 4.0.6, 3.5.14, 3.4.16, 3.3.19, or 2.7.33. Because unsupported versions are also affected, deployments on unsupported branches should be migrated to a supported fixed release.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
BroadcomSpring Bootapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

5 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

5 SOURCESView more in app
What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity2

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.

EXTERNAL REFERENCES
MITRE CVE
cve.org · CVE-2026-40974
NVD
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40974
MITRE CWE · CWE-297
cwe.mitre.org
Vendor Advisory
spring.io/security/cve-2026-40974