CVE-2026-85534
Description
A flaw was found in libsoup. When a client sends an HTTP/2 request body from a non-pollable input stream, the library can buffer more data than the current flow-control window later allows. A malicious HTTP/2 server can shrink SETTINGS_INITIAL_WINDOW_SIZE while that buffered read is still in progress. The client then copies the full buffer into a smaller DATA callback without a runtime bounds check, which can abort the process or fail the HTTP/2 session.
Statement
A libsoup 3 HTTP/2 client can abort or drop the session when it uploads a request body from a non-pollable stream (for example GFileInputStream) to a malicious server that shrinks SETTINGS_INITIAL_WINDOW_SIZE during the deferred read. Red Hat builds keep GLib assertions enabled, so the usual result is a client process abort rather than memory corruption. Exploitation requires the client to connect to an attacker-controlled HTTP/2 endpoint and use that request-body path.
Version affected: libsoup >= 3.0.0
Mitigation
Do not HTTP/2-upload from non-pollable streams (e.g. GFileInputStream) to untrusted servers. soup_message_set_request_body_from_bytes() is the pollable path. Assertions abort instead of returning an oversized length; that is not a fix.
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 | 5.9 | N/A | 5.9 |
| 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 | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
An attacker that can trigger an assert statement can still lead to a denial of service if the relevant code can be triggered by an attacker, and if the scope of the assert() extends beyond the attacker's own session.
Acknowledgements
Red Hat would like to thank xtromera for reporting this issue.
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