CVE-2026-40977: Spring Boot's PID file write follows symlinks at predictable default path

April 28, 2026 (updated May 6, 2026)

When an application is configured to use ApplicationPidFileWriter, a local attacker with write access to the PID file’s location can corrupt one file on the host each time the application is started.

Affected: Spring Boot 4.0.0–4.0.5 (fix 4.0.6), 3.5.0–3.5.13 (fix 3.5.14), 3.4.0–3.4.15 (fix 3.4.16), 3.3.0–3.3.18 (fix 3.3.19), 2.7.0–2.7.32 (fix 2.7.33); PID file / symlink behavior (ApplicationPidFileWriter). Versions that are no longer supported are also affected per vendor advisory.

References

github.com/advisories/GHSA-5368-6h4h-gr29
github.com/spring-projects/spring-boot
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-40977
spring.io/security/cve-2026-40977

Code Behaviors & Features

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