Soft spot has both literal and figurative meanings. Literally, a soft spot is a soft, tender, mushy, or weak area on something that should be firm, such as a bruise on fruit where it is mushy, a rotted weak area on wooden floor, or the fontanelle on a baby's head where skull bones have not yet fused and the area is soft and pulsates. It can also mean a tender or sore area on body that hurts when touched. Figuratively, soft spot means affection, fondness, liking, or emotional vulnerability for someone or something, making you more kind, forgiving, or generous toward them. For example, he has a soft spot for stray dogs means he especially loves them, she has a soft spot for old romantic movies means she is fond of them. In engineering or security, soft spot means weak point or vulnerability. The phrase to have a soft spot for is most commonly used figuratively to mean to be especially fond of. The origin comes from idea of softness being tender and easily impressed, opposite of hard. So soft spot means either physical soft area or emotional fondness and vulnerability, depending on context.
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