XXE in Broadcom Spring Web Services

CVE-2026-40998

Jaxp13XPathTemplate evaluated XPath expressions for StreamSource and SAXSource inputs using a code path that parsed attacker-controlled XML with the JDK's default DocumentBuilderFactory behavior instead of Spring's hardened parser configuration. Applications that evaluate XPath against untrusted XML payloads could therefore be exposed to XML External Entity (XXE) style attacks. Affected versions: Spring Web Services 5.0.0 through 5.0.1; 4.1.0 through 4.1.3; 4.0.0 through 4.0.18; 3.1.0 through 3.1.8.

Vulnerability class: XXE (XML External Entity)

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.2 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (30.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 30th percentile — 30.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-40998: held from 0.004 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-40998?
CVE-2026-40998 is a high-severity vulnerability in Broadcom Spring Web Services, classified under Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE). CVSS score: 8.2/10. Published 2026-06-11.
How severe is CVE-2026-40998?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.2 out of 10.