CVE-2026-66338
Description
A flaw was found in libsoup. The chunked transfer encoding parser uses a permissive parsing function for chunk sizes that silently accepts inputs violating RFC 9112, including leading whitespace, plus sign prefixes, and trailing invalid characters. When libsoup operates behind a strict frontend proxy, this parsing differential can be exploited to smuggle HTTP requests.
Statement
A flaw was found in libsoup where the chunked transfer encoding parser uses strtoul() to parse chunk sizes without strict validation, silently accepting inputs that violate RFC 9112. When libsoup operates behind a strict frontend proxy, this parsing differential can be exploited to smuggle HTTP requests. The practical impact is limited because libsoup servers are rarely deployed in internet-facing infrastructure behind reverse proxies. This issue is distinct from CVE-2026-1801 which covers bare LF tolerance.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.4 | N/A | 5.4 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | High |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Non-Repudiation,Access Control
Technical Impact: Unexpected State; Hide Activities; Bypass Protection Mechanism
An attacker could create HTTP messages to exploit a number of weaknesses including 1) the message can trick the web server to associate a URL with another URL's webpage and caching the contents of the webpage (web cache poisoning attack), 2) the message can be structured to bypass the firewall protection mechanisms and gain unauthorized access to a web application, and 3) the message can invoke a script or a page that returns client credentials (similar to a Cross Site Scripting attack).
Acknowledgements
Upstream acknowledges cavid as the original reporter.
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