Upgrade Spring Boot from 3.5.x to 4.0.3

Dockerfile

@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@
 ARG spring_profile=""
 ARG challenge59_webhook_url="YUhSMGNITTZMeTlvYjI5cmN5NXpiR0ZqYXk1amIyMHZjMlZ5ZG1salpYTXZWREEwVkRRd1RraFlMMEl3T1VSQlRrb3lUamRMTDJNeWFqYzFSVEUzVjFrd2NFeE5SRXRvU0RsbGQzZzBhdz09"
 ENV SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=$spring_profile
 ENV ARG_BASED_PASSWORD=$argBasedPassword
 ENV APP_VERSION=$argBasedVersion
 ENV DOCKER_ENV_PASSWORD="This is it"
 ENV AZURE_KEY_VAULT_ENABLED=false
 ENV CHALLENGE59_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL=$challenge59_webhook_url
 ENV SPRINGDOC_UI=false
 ENV SPRINGDOC_DOC=false
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     chmod 600 /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token
 
 # Create a dynamic archive
-RUN java -XX:ArchiveClassesAtExit=application.jsa -Dspring.context.exit=onRefresh -jar application.jar
+RUN java --add-modules=jdk.unsupported -XX:ArchiveClassesAtExit=application.jsa -Dspring.context.exit=onRefresh -jar application.jar
 
 # Clean up the mocked token
 RUN rm -rf /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io
@@ -70,4 +70,4 @@
 RUN adduser -u 2000 -D wrongsecrets
 USER wrongsecrets
 
-CMD java -jar -XX:SharedArchiveFile=application.jsa -Dspring.profiles.active=$(echo ${SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE}) -Dspringdoc.swagger-ui.enabled=${SPRINGDOC_UI} -Dspringdoc.api-docs.enabled=${SPRINGDOC_DOC} -D application.jar
+CMD java --add-modules=jdk.unsupported -jar -XX:SharedArchiveFile=application.jsa -Dspring.profiles.active=$(echo ${SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE}) -Dspringdoc.swagger-ui.enabled=${SPRINGDOC_UI} -Dspringdoc.api-docs.enabled=${SPRINGDOC_DOC} -D application.jar

README.md

@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ This repository contains **intentionally vulnerable code and configuration files
 
 ### 👨‍💻 Development & Contribution
 -   [Notes on development](#notes-on-development)
+  -   [Spring Boot 4 adoption checklist](docs/SPRING_BOOT_4_ADOPTION_CHECKLIST.md)
     -   [Dependency management](#dependency-management)
     -   [Get the project started in IntelliJ IDEA](#get-the-project-started-in-intellij-idea)
     -   [Automatic reload during development](#automatic-reload-during-development)

docs/DEVELOPMENT_PATTERNS.md

@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 This document outlines common code patterns, conventions, and best practices used throughout the WrongSecrets project.
 
+## Related documentation
+
+- [Spring Boot 4 Adoption Checklist](SPRING_BOOT_4_ADOPTION_CHECKLIST.md)
+
 ## Challenge Structure Patterns
 
 ### Challenge Interface vs FixedAnswerChallenge

docs/SPRING_BOOT_4_ADOPTION_CHECKLIST.md

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+# Spring Boot 4 Adoption Checklist (WrongSecrets)
+
+This checklist is tailored to the current `wrongsecrets` codebase (Spring Boot `4.0.3`, Java `25`).
+
+## How to use this document
+
+- Keep this as a living checklist in PRs.
+- Mark items complete when merged.
+- Prefer small, focused migrations (one concern per PR).
+
+## Current baseline (already in place)
+
+- [x] Spring Boot `4.0.3` is configured in `pom.xml`.
+- [x] Spring Cloud line is aligned (`2025.1.1`).
+- [x] `@ConfigurationProperties` is already used in multiple places.
+- [x] Mockito inline-mock-maker warning addressed by passing Mockito as Java agent in Surefire.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 0 — Safety and consistency (start here)
+
+### 1) Standardize HTTP error responses with `ProblemDetail`
+
+- [ ] Add a global `@RestControllerAdvice` for API endpoints that returns `ProblemDetail`.
+- [ ] Keep MVC HTML error handling as-is for Thymeleaf pages; only modernize JSON API errors.
+- [ ] Add tests that assert RFC 9457-style payload fields (`type`, `title`, `status`, `detail`, `instance`).
+
+**Why now:** Reduces custom exception payload drift and improves API consistency.
+
+### 2) Replace new `RestTemplate` usage with `RestClient`
+
+- [ ] Stop introducing any new `RestTemplate` usage.
+- [ ] Migrate existing bean in `WrongSecretsApplication` from `RestTemplate` to `RestClient.Builder`.
+- [ ] Migrate call sites incrementally (start with `SlackNotificationService`).
+- [ ] Add timeout and retry policy explicitly for outbound calls.
+
+**Current state:** `RestTemplate` bean and usage exist and can be migrated safely in phases.
+
+### 3) Add/verify deprecation gate in CI
+
+- [ ] Run compile with deprecation warnings enabled in CI (`-Xlint:deprecation`).
+- [ ] Fail build on newly introduced deprecations (can be soft-fail initially).
+- [ ] Track remaining suppressions/deprecations as explicit TODOs.
+
+**Why now:** Boot 4/Spring 7 deprecations will accumulate quickly otherwise.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 1 — Observability and operability
+
+### 4) Enable tracing + log correlation end-to-end
+
+- [ ] Ensure tracing is enabled in all non-local profiles.
+- [ ] Ensure logs include trace/span correlation IDs.
+- [ ] Add dashboard/alerts for key challenge-flow operations.
+
+### 5) Harden Actuator for production profiles
+
+- [ ] Verify readiness/liveness probes are exposed and used by deployment manifests.
+- [ ] Restrict sensitive actuator endpoints by profile.
+- [ ] Add health contributors for external dependencies used in runtime profiles.
+
+### 6) Structured logging profile
+
+- [ ] Use JSON logs for cloud/container profiles.
+- [ ] Keep developer-friendly text logs for local profile.
+- [ ] Document expected log fields for incident response.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 2 — Runtime and performance
+
+### 7) Evaluate virtual threads for I/O-heavy flows
+
+- [ ] Add profile-based toggle (`spring.threads.virtual.enabled=true`) for evaluation.
+- [ ] Run load comparison (latency, throughput, memory) before default-enabling.
+- [ ] Keep a rollback toggle in case of third-party incompatibilities.
+
+### 8) Validate graceful shutdown behavior
+
+- [ ] Verify request drain behavior on shutdown in containerized environments.
+- [ ] Confirm no challenge state corruption occurs during rolling updates.
+
+### 9) AOT/native readiness checks
+
+- [ ] Add optional CI job for AOT/native compatibility (not necessarily release artifact yet).
+- [ ] Record blockers (reflection/dynamic proxies/resources) in this document.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 3 — Security and configuration posture
+
+### 10) Expand typed config, reduce scattered `@Value`
+
+- [ ] Introduce/extend `@ConfigurationProperties` classes for grouped settings.
+- [ ] Limit direct `@Value` usage to simple one-off values.
+- [ ] Validate config with bean validation annotations.
+
+### 11) TLS/SSL bundles standardization
+
+- [ ] Use SSL bundle config for outbound TLS trust/key material where applicable.
+- [ ] Remove ad-hoc SSL setup code if present.
+
+### 12) Secret handling consistency by profile
+
+- [ ] Document expected secret source per profile (`docker`, `k8s`, `aws`, `gcp`, `azure`).
+- [ ] Ensure no fallback path accidentally logs sensitive values.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 4 — Testing modernization
+
+### 13) Keep Mockito java-agent setup stable
+
+- [x] Surefire passes Mockito as `-javaagent`.
+- [ ] Mirror same setup in Failsafe if/when integration tests use inline mocking.
+
+### 14) Strengthen integration testing with Testcontainers service connection patterns
+
+- [ ] Prefer service-connection style wiring for test dependencies.
+- [ ] Reduce custom bootstrapping code in integration tests where possible.
+
+### 15) Add contract tests for outbound HTTP clients
+
+- [ ] Add tests for success, timeout, retry, and non-2xx mapping behavior.
+- [ ] Ensure migrated `RestClient` paths are fully covered.
+
+---
+
+## Concrete first 5 PRs
+
+1. **PR 1:** Add API `ProblemDetail` advice + tests.
+2. **PR 2:** Introduce `RestClient` bean and migrate `SlackNotificationService`.
+3. **PR 3:** Add deprecation checks to CI and document policy.
+4. **PR 4:** Add tracing/log-correlation defaults for non-local profiles.
+5. **PR 5:** Virtual thread evaluation profile + benchmark notes.
+
+---
+
+## Definition of done for Boot 4 adoption
+
+- [ ] No new `RestTemplate` code introduced.
+- [ ] API errors are standardized on `ProblemDetail`.
+- [ ] Deprecation warnings are tracked and controlled in CI.
+- [ ] Observability baseline (metrics, traces, log correlation) is active in non-local profiles.
+- [ ] Migration choices and rollout decisions are documented in `docs/`.

pom.xml

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
   <parent>
     <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
     <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
-    <version>3.5.11</version>
+    <version>4.0.3</version>
     <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
   </parent>
 
@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@
     <archunit.version>1.4.1</archunit.version>
     <asciidoctor.maven.plugin.version>3.2.0</asciidoctor.maven.plugin.version>
     <asciidoctorj.version>3.0.1</asciidoctorj.version>
-    <aws.sdk.version>2.40.9</aws.sdk.version>
+    <aws.sdk.version>2.42.4</aws.sdk.version>
     <bootstrap.version>5.3.8</bootstrap.version>
     <checkstyle-maven.version>3.6.0</checkstyle-maven.version>
     <checkstyle.version>13.2.0</checkstyle.version>
-    <com.azure.spring.version>6.0.0</com.azure.spring.version>
+    <com.azure.spring.version>7.0.0</com.azure.spring.version>
     <cyclonedx-maven.version>2.9.1</cyclonedx-maven.version>
     <cyclonedx.core.version>12.1.0</cyclonedx.core.version>
     <datatables.version>2.3.7</datatables.version>
@@ -60,10 +60,12 @@
     <findsecbugs.version>1.14.0</findsecbugs.version>
     <frontend-maven-plugin.version>1.15.4</frontend-maven-plugin.version>
     <gatling-maven-plugin.version>4.21.0</gatling-maven-plugin.version>
-    <gatling.version>3.14.9</gatling.version>
-    <gcp.sdk.version>7.4.5</gcp.sdk.version>
+    <gatling.version>3.15.0</gatling.version>
     <github.button.version>2.14.1</github.button.version>
-    <io.netty.version>4.1.123.Final</io.netty.version>
+    <google.cloud.libraries-bom.version>26.76.0</google.cloud.libraries-bom.version>
+    <!-- Pin Groovy to 4.x for thymeleaf-layout-dialect compatibility (Spring Boot 4.0 manages 5.x) -->
+    <groovy.version>4.0.25</groovy.version>
+    <io.netty.version>4.1.130.Final</io.netty.version>
     <java.version>25</java.version>
     <jquery.version>3.7.1</jquery.version>
     <jruby.version>10.0.3.0</jruby.version>
@@ -77,12 +79,12 @@
     <spotbugs-maven.version>4.9.8.2</spotbugs-maven.version>
     <spotbugs.version>4.9.8</spotbugs.version>
     <spotless-maven-plugin.version>3.2.1</spotless-maven-plugin.version>
-    <spring-boot.version>3.5.11</spring-boot.version>
-    <spring-vault.version>3.2.0</spring-vault.version>
-    <spring.cloud-version>2025.0.0</spring.cloud-version>
-    <spring.security.version>6.5.8</spring.security.version>
+    <spring-boot.version>4.0.3</spring-boot.version>
+    <spring-vault.version>4.0.1</spring-vault.version>
+    <spring.cloud-version>2025.1.1</spring.cloud-version>
+    <spring.security.version>7.0.3</spring.security.version>
     <springdoc-maven.version>1.5</springdoc-maven.version>
-    <springdoc.version>2.8.15</springdoc.version>
+    <springdoc.version>3.0.1</springdoc.version>
     <system-stubs-jupiter.version>2.1.8</system-stubs-jupiter.version>
     <testcontainers-cypress.version>1.10.0</testcontainers-cypress.version>
     <testcontainers.version>1.21.4</testcontainers.version>
@@ -108,8 +110,8 @@
 
       <dependency>
         <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
-        <artifactId>spring-cloud-gcp-dependencies</artifactId>
-        <version>${gcp.sdk.version}</version>
+        <artifactId>libraries-bom</artifactId>
+        <version>${google.cloud.libraries-bom.version}</version>
         <type>pom</type>
         <scope>import</scope>
       </dependency>
@@ -297,6 +299,12 @@
       <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
 
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
+      <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webmvc-test</artifactId>
+      <scope>test</scope>
+    </dependency>
+
     <dependency>
       <groupId>uk.org.webcompere</groupId>
       <artifactId>system-stubs-jupiter</artifactId>
@@ -658,12 +666,24 @@
         <artifactId>gatling-maven-plugin</artifactId>
         <version>${gatling-maven-plugin.version}</version>
       </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>3.8.1</version>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>properties</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
         <version>${maven-surefire-plugin.version}</version>
         <configuration>
-          <argLine>-Dspring.profiles.active=test,maven-test</argLine>
+          <argLine>-Dspring.profiles.active=test,maven-test -javaagent:${org.mockito:mockito-core:jar}</argLine>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
     </plugins>

src/main/java/org/owasp/wrongsecrets/SecretsErrorController.java

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package org.owasp.wrongsecrets;
 
 import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.Operation;
-import org.springframework.boot.web.servlet.error.ErrorController;
+import org.springframework.boot.webmvc.error.ErrorController;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
 import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
 

src/main/java/org/owasp/wrongsecrets/challenges/ChallengesCtfController.java

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 package org.owasp.wrongsecrets.challenges;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.ArrayNode;
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.node.JsonNodeFactory;
 import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.Operation;
 import java.util.List;
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
-import net.minidev.json.JSONArray;
-import net.minidev.json.JSONObject;
 import org.owasp.wrongsecrets.Challenges;
 import org.owasp.wrongsecrets.RuntimeEnvironment;
 import org.owasp.wrongsecrets.ScoreCard;
@@ -45,11 +45,11 @@ public ChallengesCtfController(
       summary = "Gives all challenges back in a jsonArray, to be used with the Juiceshop CTF cli")
   public String getChallenges() {
     List<ChallengeDefinition> definitions = challenges.getDefinitions().challenges();
-    JSONObject json = new JSONObject();
-    JSONArray jsonArray = new JSONArray();
+    var json = JsonNodeFactory.instance.objectNode();
+    ArrayNode jsonArray = JsonNodeFactory.instance.arrayNode();
     for (int i = 0; i < definitions.size(); i++) {
       ChallengeDefinition definition = definitions.get(i);
-      JSONObject jsonChallenge = new JSONObject();
+      var jsonChallenge = JsonNodeFactory.instance.objectNode();
       jsonChallenge.put("id", i + 1);
       jsonChallenge.put("name", definition.name().name());
       jsonChallenge.put("key", definition.name().shortName());
@@ -68,13 +68,18 @@ public String getChallenges() {
               .map(s -> s.hint().contents().get())
               .orElse(disabledChallenge));
       jsonChallenge.put("solved", scoreCard.getChallengeCompleted(definition));
-      jsonChallenge.put("disabledEnv", getDisabledEnv(definition));
+      String disabledEnv = getDisabledEnv(definition);
+      if (disabledEnv != null) {
+        jsonChallenge.put("disabledEnv", disabledEnv);
+      } else {
+        jsonChallenge.putNull("disabledEnv");
+      }
       jsonChallenge.put("difficulty", getDificulty(definition.difficulty()));
       jsonArray.add(jsonChallenge);
     }
     json.put("status", "success");
-    json.put("data", jsonArray);
-    String result = json.toJSONString();
+    json.set("data", jsonArray);
+    String result = json.toString();
     log.trace("returning {}", result);
     return result;
   }

src/main/java/org/owasp/wrongsecrets/challenges/docker/Challenge49.java

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ public boolean answerCorrect(String answer) {
         return false;
       }
     } catch (Exception e) {
-      log.warn("given answer is not an integer", e);
+      log.warn("given answer is not an integer. Exception: {}", e.getMessage());
       return false;
     }
 

src/main/java/org/owasp/wrongsecrets/challenges/docker/Challenge52.java

@@ -33,7 +33,10 @@ private String getActualSecret() {
     try {
       return Files.readString(Paths.get(dockerMountsecret, "secret.txt"), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
     } catch (Exception e) {
-      log.warn("Exception during file reading, defaulting to default without cloud environment", e);
+      log.warn(
+          "Exception during file reading, defaulting to default without cloud environment."
+              + " Exception message: {}",
+          e.getMessage());
       return Challenges.ErrorResponses.OUTSIDE_DOCKER;
     }
   }

src/main/java/org/owasp/wrongsecrets/challenges/docker/Challenge59.java

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8;
 
 import java.util.Base64;
+import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 import org.owasp.wrongsecrets.challenges.FixedAnswerChallenge;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@
  * variables. Shows how an ex-employee could misuse the webhook if it's not rotated when they leave.
  */
 @Component
+@Slf4j
 public class Challenge59 extends FixedAnswerChallenge {
 
   private final String obfuscatedSlackWebhookUrl;
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ private String deobfuscateSlackWebhookUrl(String obfuscatedUrl) {
       byte[] secondDecode = Base64.getDecoder().decode(firstDecode);
       return new String(secondDecode, UTF_8);
     } catch (Exception e) {
+      log.warn("Webhook URL not properly set for Slack in {}", this);
       // Return a default value if the environment variable is not properly set
       return "https://hooks.slack.com/services/T00000000/B00000000/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX";
     }