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Secure Spring Boot Actuator in three separate steps: expose only the endpoint IDs the service needs, authorize requests to those endpoints, and restrict which networks can reach the management interface. Disabling a couple of familiar endpoints is not a substitute for an allowlist: a broad wildcard with a short exclusion list can expose endpoints you did not intend to publish.
What does Spring Boot expose by default?
The current Spring Boot reference says that only /health is exposed over HTTP by default. Treat that as a baseline, not a guarantee that a particular application’s health response contains no sensitive information. Review the response and any health contributors configured for the service. Spring Boot cautions: “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 reference documentation.
How should you choose which endpoints are exposed?
Use management.endpoints.web.exposure.include to list the endpoint IDs that should be available over HTTP. For example:
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management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,infoThis is an example of an explicit allowlist, not a recommendation that every service should expose info. Check what each endpoint returns in your deployment and expose it only if there is a defined operational need. Spring Boot 3.4 documents both include and exclude; exclusions take precedence when an endpoint appears in both. A wildcard inclusion paired with a few exclusions is still an opt-out policy and can leave an unintended endpoint exposed. If you use a wildcard in YAML, quote it. See the Spring Boot 3.4 endpoint reference.
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How do you authorize Actuator requests?
Exposure controls whether an endpoint is available through a given technology; authorization controls who may make a request. The current Spring Boot reference documents conditional security behavior: when Spring Security is present and the application has no custom SecurityFilterChain, Boot’s auto-configuration protects Actuator endpoints other than health. If you define a custom SecurityFilterChain, Boot’s Actuator security auto-configuration backs off. Your application must then provide the Actuator authorization rules itself.
The official reference demonstrates matching Actuator requests with EndpointRequest.toAnyEndpoint() and requiring a role. Adapt that pattern to your authentication and role model, and verify that your other security filter chains still cover the rest of the application’s requests. A custom chain is not merely an added Actuator rule; it changes which security configuration Boot supplies. Consult the current Actuator endpoint security guidance for the documented pattern.
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What does endpoint-level access control add?
Spring Boot 3.4 documents endpoint access settings separately from web exposure. One restrictive starting point is management.endpoints.access.default=none, followed by selectively granting access to the endpoint IDs the application needs. Inaccessible endpoints are removed from the application context; web exposure inclusion and exclusion determine the technology over which an endpoint is exposed. These controls address different questions, so do not treat one as a replacement for the other.
Confirm that this property and its exact behavior are supported by the Spring Boot release you deploy. The cited access-property guidance is in the 3.4 reference; do not assume it applies unchanged to every version. See Spring Boot 3.4 endpoint access and exposure settings.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you restrict network reachability?
Network placement is an additional layer, not a substitute for endpoint selection or authorization. Spring Boot documents 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. A loopback bind can make the management interface reachable only from the same host; a separate port can help keep it apart from user-facing traffic. Whether either option works as intended depends on the deployment’s network and proxy architecture.
Check the relevant options in Spring Boot’s Monitoring and Management over HTTP documentation, then verify actual reachability from outside the service host and from the networks used by operators and monitoring systems.
Quick Recap
How do the security controls fit together?
| Control | Question it answers | Practical choice |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP exposure | Which endpoint IDs are available over HTTP? | Use an explicit management.endpoints.web.exposure.include list; avoid wildcard exposure unless there is a controlled operational need. |
| Authorization | Who can make requests? | Require appropriate authentication and roles. If you define a custom SecurityFilterChain, configure Actuator rules yourself. |
| Endpoint access | Which endpoints are enabled for application access? | Spring Boot 3.4 documents a restrictive default with selective grants; verify support in the deployed version. |
| Network reachability | From where can clients reach management endpoints? | Consider a separate management port and a restricted bind address where the deployment supports them. |
What should you check in an existing service?
- Identify the deployed Spring Boot version. Compare configuration properties and security behavior with that version’s reference documentation, especially before using Spring Boot 3.4 endpoint access settings.
- Inventory exposed endpoint IDs. Review
management.endpoints.web.exposure.includeandmanagement.endpoints.web.exposure.exclude; replace broad inclusion with a purposeful allowlist where feasible. - Inspect endpoint responses. Confirm that the data returned by every exposed endpoint is appropriate for the deployment, including health details and application information.
- Review security chains. Determine whether Spring Security is present and whether the application defines a custom
SecurityFilterChain. If it does, verify that Actuator requests have explicit authorization rules. - Test reachability from relevant networks. Confirm that the management port and bind address match the intended access path, including operator and monitoring access.
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