CVE-2026-50020
Description
A flaw was found in Netty. The HttpObjectDecoder component, which processes incoming HTTP requests, incorrectly skips certain control characters and whitespace before reading the first request line. This behavior, which goes beyond standard HTTP protocol requirements, can lead to request-boundary confusion in systems that use pipelined or multiplexed transports. An attacker could exploit this to cause a front-end component to misinterpret HTTP request boundaries, potentially resulting in low integrity impact, such as unintended data manipulation.
Statement
This Moderate flaw in Netty's HttpObjectDecoder could lead to data manipulation in Red Hat products utilizing pipelined or multiplexed HTTP transports. The vulnerability arises from the decoder's over-permissive handling of control characters and whitespace, which can cause front-end components to misinterpret HTTP request boundaries. Exploitation requires a specific network configuration where front-end and back-end components process HTTP requests inconsistently, limiting the immediate impact on default installations.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.3 | N/A | 5.3 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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