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How to Secure Spring Boot Actuator: Choose Endpoints, Access and Network Rules

Secure Actuator in layers: expose only needed endpoint IDs, define who can access them, and restrict network reachability. Spring Boot defaults and access properties vary by version.

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Secure Spring Boot Actuator in three layers: expose only the endpoint IDs the service needs, authorize requests to those endpoints, and restrict which networks can reach the management server. Disabling a couple of familiar endpoints is not a substitute for an explicit allowlist.

Choose which Actuator endpoints are exposed

Spring Boot’s current reference says that only health is exposed over HTTP by default. Treat that as a baseline, not as proof that the health response in your application is safe to publish: review what it returns and who can retrieve it. The reference warns: “Before setting the management.endpoints.web.exposure.include, ensure that the exposed actuators do not contain sensitive information, are secured by placing them behind a firewall, or are secured by something like Spring Security.” Spring Boot’s Actuator endpoint reference

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When you need additional HTTP endpoints, list the endpoint IDs deliberately. For example:

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management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info

This is an example, not a universal recommendation to expose info. Inspect the data each endpoint returns and decide whether it is appropriate for your deployment. The Spring Boot 3.4 endpoint reference documents both include and exclude; if an endpoint appears in both, exclude takes precedence.

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Why an allowlist is safer than broad inclusion

An explicit list makes the intended HTTP surface visible in configuration. By contrast, wildcard inclusion followed by a short exclusion list is an opt-out policy: an endpoint not anticipated in the exclusion list may become exposed. Avoid wildcard exposure unless there is a clearly controlled operational need. If you use * in YAML, quote it so it is parsed as a string.

Set endpoint access and request authorization

Exposure answers which endpoints are available through a web technology; it does not determine who is allowed to call them. Authorization is a separate control. The current Spring Boot reference says that, when Spring Security is present and the application has no custom SecurityFilterChain, Boot auto-configuration protects Actuator endpoints other than health. When you define a custom chain, that Actuator security auto-configuration backs off. Your application must then supply the Actuator access rules itself.

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The official reference shows matching Actuator requests with EndpointRequest.toAnyEndpoint() and requiring a role. Adapt that pattern to your authentication model, and check that your other request chains still protect the rest of the application. Do not assume that adding a custom chain leaves the Actuator defaults in place. See Spring Boot’s security guidance for Actuator endpoints.

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Consider endpoint-level access controls where supported

The Spring Boot 3.4 reference documents endpoint access properties, including a restrictive starting point:

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management.endpoints.access.default=none

You can then selectively grant access to the endpoints the service requires. Under this model, inaccessible endpoints are removed from the application context, while web exposure settings determine the technology over which an endpoint is exposed. These controls solve different problems; use the version-specific documentation to confirm availability and exact behavior in the release you deploy. Do not assume this property is supported or behaves identically in every Spring Boot version.

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Restrict management-server reachability

Network placement adds another layer. Spring Boot supports configuring a separate management port and binding the management server to an address such as 127.0.0.1, subject to the management-port configuration and deployment architecture. A separate port or restricted bind address can reduce which clients can reach Actuator, but it does not replace endpoint selection or authorization. See Spring Boot’s guide to monitoring and management over HTTP.

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Review the three controls together

Control What to configure What it does not do by itself
Exposure Explicitly list the required endpoint IDs with management.endpoints.web.exposure.include. Does not decide which authenticated users may make requests.
Authorization Apply request rules for Actuator endpoints, especially if the application defines a custom SecurityFilterChain. Does not make an endpoint unavailable through other exposure or management configurations.
Network reachability Where the deployment supports it, use a separate management port and an internal or loopback bind address. Does not replace endpoint allowlisting or access rules.
Endpoint-level access On supported releases, use access properties to deny endpoints by default and grant only those needed. Does not replace exposure configuration; confirm support and behavior for the deployed version.

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