CVE-2026-47834 Overview
CVE-2026-47834 is an input validation vulnerability in Spring Data JPA's Sort parameter handling. Attackers can bypass validation by supplying crafted payloads through untrusted request parameters. The flaw affects applications that pass user-controlled sort parameters directly to Spring Data JPA repositories without sanitization. Successful exploitation can lead to limited information disclosure and availability impact against the affected data layer.
The issue is tracked as an Input Validation Error [CWE-20] affecting multiple Spring Data JPA release branches. Spring has published a security advisory with fixed versions.
Critical Impact
Sort parameter validation bypass in Spring Data JPA can expose limited confidentiality and availability risk when untrusted input reaches repository query construction.
Affected Products
- Spring Data JPA 4.1.0
- Spring Data JPA 4.0.0 through 4.0.6
- Spring Data JPA 3.5.0 through 3.5.13 and 3.0.0 through 3.4.15
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-08-26 - CVE-2026-47834 published to NVD
- 2026-08-26 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-47834
Vulnerability Analysis
Spring Data JPA provides a Sort abstraction that maps client-supplied sort field names and directions onto generated JPQL or SQL ORDER BY clauses. Applications commonly bind these parameters directly from HTTP query strings using Pageable or Sort method arguments in Spring MVC controllers.
The advisory indicates that the validation logic applied to Sort inputs can be circumvented when the parameter contains a crafted payload. An attacker who controls the sort parameter can therefore influence the query beyond the intended allow-list of sortable properties.
The practical outcome is limited. The attack complexity is high and no privileges are required, but confidentiality and availability impact remain constrained rather than full compromise. Integrity is not affected by this issue.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper input validation on Sort property references originating from untrusted sources. The validation routine fails to reject specific crafted payload structures, allowing them to reach downstream query construction. This is consistent with the CWE-20 class of input validation errors.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is network-based and unauthenticated. An attacker crafts an HTTP request whose sort parameter contains a payload structured to slip past the validation checks. The malicious value is then bound into a Spring Data JPA repository call. See the Spring Security Advisory CVE-2026-47834 for the vendor's technical description.
No verified public proof-of-concept exploit is available at the time of publication.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-47834
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual sort= query parameters containing punctuation, function-like syntax, or field names not exposed by the application's data model.
- Elevated database error rates or slow queries correlated with requests carrying malformed sort or Pageable parameters.
- Access log entries showing repeated probing of endpoints that accept Pageable arguments from anonymous clients.
Detection Strategies
- Inventory Spring Boot services and identify controllers that accept Sort or Pageable parameters bound from request query strings.
- Instrument application logging to record the raw sort parameter value alongside the resolved property list at repository invocation.
- Add web application firewall rules that flag sort parameters containing SQL keywords, parentheses, or unexpected characters.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor for anomalous JPQL or SQL ORDER BY clauses in database query logs referencing columns outside the documented API surface.
- Alert on HTTP 500 responses from paginated endpoints when the request includes non-standard sort values.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-47834
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade Spring Data JPA to a fixed release on your current branch as identified in the Spring Security Advisory CVE-2026-47834.
- Audit controller signatures using Sort or Pageable to confirm which endpoints accept these parameters from untrusted callers.
- Restrict sortable properties to a server-side allow-list rather than accepting arbitrary client field names.
Patch Information
Spring has issued patched versions for the affected 3.x and 4.x branches. Update to the vendor-designated fix release for your branch as documented in the Spring advisory. Rebuild and redeploy applications after upgrading the spring-data-jpa dependency.
Workarounds
- Reject or sanitize incoming sort parameter values at the controller layer before constructing a Sort instance.
- Map client-supplied sort keys to a fixed enumeration of allowed domain properties.
- Disable exposure of Pageable binding on endpoints reachable by unauthenticated users where sorting is not required.
# Example Maven dependency update after applying the fix
mvn versions:use-latest-versions -Dincludes=org.springframework.data:spring-data-jpa
mvn dependency:tree | grep spring-data-jpa
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
