Spring Actuator Information Leak

Reference

Plugin Id: 40042 | CWE: 215

Remediation

To remediate the Spring Actuator Information Leak vulnerability, follow these steps:

Disable sensitive endpoints: Disable or restrict access to sensitive endpoints in the Spring Actuator. This can be done by configuring the management.endpoints.web.exposure.include property in the application’s configuration file. For example, to only expose the /health endpoint, add the following to the application.properties file:
```
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health
```
This will prevent the exposure of other sensitive endpoints like /env, /beans, or /info.
Secure sensitive information: If sensitive information is still required to be exposed through the Actuator, ensure that it is properly secured. This can be done by encrypting or obfuscating the sensitive data before exposing it. Additionally, consider implementing authentication and authorization mechanisms to restrict access to sensitive endpoints.
Regularly update Spring Boot version: Keep the Spring Boot version up to date to benefit from the latest security patches and fixes. This can be done by regularly checking for updates and following the Spring Boot documentation for upgrading to newer versions.

About

Spring Actuator is a feature of the Spring Boot framework that provides endpoints for monitoring and managing an application. The Actuator includes various endpoints that expose information about the application’s health, metrics, environment, and more. While Actuators can be useful for monitoring purposes, they should be used with caution to avoid exposing sensitive information about the application or the infrastructure running it.

Risks

The Spring Actuator Information Leak vulnerability poses the following risks:

Exposure of sensitive information: If the Actuator endpoints are not properly secured or configured, they can expose sensitive information about the application or the underlying infrastructure. This can include database credentials, environment variables, or other sensitive configuration details.
Potential for unauthorized access: If sensitive endpoints are accessible to unauthorized users, it can lead to unauthorized access and potential exploitation of the application or infrastructure. This can result in data breaches, unauthorized modifications, or other security incidents.
Increased attack surface: Enabling Actuator endpoints without proper security measures increases the attack surface of the application. Attackers can use the exposed information to gain insights into the application’s vulnerabilities and exploit them for malicious purposes.

It is important to properly configure and secure the Actuator endpoints to mitigate these risks and ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the application and its data.