In the week of February 16th, 2026, the Spring ecosystem saw the release of several milestone updates, marking important progress toward the next stable versions for developers. This roundup highlights the key enhancements across various Spring projects.
Spring Boot has introduced version 4.1.0-M2, focusing on character encoding support for configuration imports and new attributes for ProcessInfo, boosting its functionality for application developers.
Spring Data rolled out its 2026.0.0-M1 version, which now includes type-safe property references to improve the safety and clarity of data operations.
The 7.1.0-M2 release of Spring Security brings JSpecify null safety and refined configuration for AuthenticationDetailsSource, enhancing the security framework’s robustness.
Spring Session’s 4.1.0-M1 update incorporates JSpecify support and compatibility with the Java Toolchain, aligning with the latest Java enhancements.
With Spring Integration 7.1.0-M2, developers now have access to new CloudEvents transformer classes, facilitating better integration of cloud-native events.
Spring Modulith advances to version 2.1.0-M2, offering improved event visibility across threads and improvements in its observability metrics architecture.
For messaging, Spring AMQP version 4.1.0-M2 now supports the AMQP 1.0 specification, broadening its compatibility for message-driven applications.
Additionally, Spring for Apache Kafka has announced the 4.1.0-M1 milestone release, featuring a new ackMode attribute for @KafkaListener, which allows per-listener acknowledgment mode configuration.
Spring LDAP continues to enhance its framework with the 4.1.0-M1 release, introducing null-safe context execution and a reorganization of its namespace, further streamlining its usability.
These milestone releases indicate significant strides in the Spring projects, providing Java developers with cutting-edge tools to enhance their enterprise applications as they prepare for forthcoming stable versions.

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Multiple Spring ecosystem projects released second milestone versions in February 2026. Key highlights include Spring Boot 4.1.0-M2 with character encoding support, Spring Data 2026.0.0-M1 with type-safe property references, Spring Security 7.1.0-M2 with JSpecify null safety, Spring AMQP 4.1.0-M2 adding AMQP 1.0 support, Spring for Apache Kafka 4.1.0-M1 with a new @KafkaListener ackMode attribute, and Spring Modulith 2.1.0-M2 with improved event visibility and observability metrics.

Spring News Roundup: Second Milestone Releases Across the Spring Ecosystem