What is CVE-2022-46166?

CVE-2022-46166 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (maven), affecting versions < 2.6.10. It is fixed in 2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.

How severe is CVE-2022-46166?

CVE-2022-46166 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin are affected by CVE-2022-46166?

de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (maven) versions < 2.6.10 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2022-46166?

Yes. CVE-2022-46166 is fixed in 2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2022-46166 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

How do I fix CVE-2022-46166?

Upgrade: de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.6.10 or later, de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.7.8 or later, de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 3.0.0-M6 or later.

CVE-2022-46166 in de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin

Q: How severe is CVE-2022-46166?

CVE-2022-46166 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Q: Which versions of de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin are affected by CVE-2022-46166?

de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (maven) versions < 2.6.10 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2022-46166?

Yes. CVE-2022-46166 is fixed in 2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2022-46166 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2022-46166?

Upgrade: de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.6.10 or later, de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.7.8 or later, de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 3.0.0-M6 or later.

Summary

Spring Boot Admins integrated notifier support allows arbitrary code execution

Workarounds

Disable any notifier
Disable write access (POST request) on /env actuator endpoint

Impact

All users who run Spring Boot Admin Server, having enabled Notifiers (e.g. Teams-Notifier) and write access to environment variables via UI are possibly affected.

Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.

CVE-2022-46166 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (< 2.6.10) de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.8) de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (>= 3.0.0-M1, < 3.0.0-M6)

Security releases

de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin → 2.6.10 (maven) de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin → 2.7.8 (maven) de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin → 3.0.0-M6 (maven)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

In the most recent releases of Spring Boot Admin 2.6.10 and 2.7.8 the issue is fixed by implementing SimpleExecutionContext of SpEL. This prevents the arbitrary code execution (i.e. SpEL injection).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-46166? CVE-2022-46166 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (maven), affecting versions < 2.6.10. It is fixed in 2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
How severe is CVE-2022-46166? CVE-2022-46166 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
Which versions of de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin are affected by CVE-2022-46166? de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin (maven) versions < 2.6.10 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2022-46166? Yes. CVE-2022-46166 is fixed in 2.6.10, 2.7.8, 3.0.0-M6. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2022-46166 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether CVE-2022-46166 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix CVE-2022-46166?
- Upgrade de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.6.10 or later
- Upgrade de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 2.7.8 or later
- Upgrade de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin to 3.0.0-M6 or later