CVE-2026-7009
Description
A flaw was found in curl. When curl is configured to use the Certificate Status Request TLS (Transport Layer Security) extension, also known as OCSP (Online Certificate Status Protocol) stapling, it fails to properly detect issues with the OCSP response. This can lead curl to incorrectly validate a server certificate as legitimate, potentially allowing an attacker to bypass certificate validation and establish a connection to a malicious server.
Statement
This vulnerability affects curl and libcurl certificate validation functionality. Red Hat Product Security has assessed this issue as a Moderate severity vulnerability.
The flaw was introduced in curl 8.17.0 as part of functionality that added support for certificate validation using Apple SecTrust together with OpenSSL-based TLS backends.
The issue is particularly relevant for users who explicitly enable OCSP validation through --cert-status or CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYSTATUS, as these options are intended to ensure that certificate revocation status is verified before a connection is accepted.
Red Hat products are not affected by this vulnerability. The vulnerable functionality was introduced in curl 8.17.0, while Red Hat products currently ship curl versions older than 8.17.0 and therefore do not contain the affected code.
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 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | Low | Low | Low |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | None |
| Availability Impact | None | None | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Authentication
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
When a certificate is invalid or malicious, it might allow an attacker to spoof a trusted entity by interfering in the communication path between the host and client. The product might connect to a malicious host while believing it is a trusted host, or the product might be deceived into accepting spoofed data that appears to originate from a trusted host.
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