What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-16785?

CVE-2019-16785 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.7%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2019-16785?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2019-16785. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 2.7%.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2019-16785?

Yes, a patch is available for CVE-2019-16785. Update the affected software to the latest version immediately.

Waitress CVE-2019-16785

HIGH

HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CWE-444)

2019-12-20 security-advisories@github.com

Information Disclosure Debian Oracle Red Hat Request Smuggling Debian Linux Fedora Openstack Communications Cloud Native Core Network Function Cloud Native Environment Waitress Fedoraproject Agendaless

7.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-444 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V4 - API and Web Service HTTP request consistency
Impact	CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

Patch available 2.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Waitress through version 1.3.1 implemented a "MAY" part of the RFC7230 which states: "Although the line terminator for the start-line and header fields is the sequence CRLF, a recipient MAY recognize. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Enforce strict HTTP parsing, normalize requests at proxy layer, use HTTP/2 end-to-end, reject ambiguous headers.

Affected Packages

pypi waitress fix: 1.4.0

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in pypi

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CWE-444), which allows attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers. Waitress through version 1.3.1 implemented a "MAY" part of the RFC7230 which states: "Although the line terminator for the start-line and header fields is the sequence CRLF, a recipient MAY recognize a single LF as a line terminator and ignore any preceding CR." Unfortunately if a front-end server does not parse header fields with an LF the same way as it does those with a CRLF it can lead to the front-end and the back-end server parsing the same HTTP message in two different ways. This can lead to a potential for HTTP request smuggling/splitting whereby Waitress may see two requests while the front-end server only sees a single HTTP message. This issue is fixed in Waitress 1.4.0. Affected products include: Agendaless Waitress, Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Network Function Cloud Native Environment, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Redhat Openstack. Version information: version 1.3.1.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

High

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

Waitress through version 1.3.1 implemented a "MAY" part of the RFC7230 which states: "Although the line terminator for the start-line and header fields is the sequence CRLF, a recipient MAY recognize a single LF as a line terminator and ignore any preceding CR." Unfortunately if a front-end server does not parse header fields with an LF the same way as it does those with a CRLF it can lead to the front-end and the back-end server parsing the same HTTP message in two different ways. This can lead to a potential for HTTP request smuggling/splitting whereby Waitress may see two requests while the front-end server only sees a single HTTP message. This issue is fixed in Waitress 1.4.0.

Blast Radius

ecosystem impact

† from your stack dependencies † transitive graph · vuln.today resolves 4-path depth

2 pypi packages depend on waitress (2 direct, 0 indirect)

Ecosystem-wide dependent count for version 1.4.0.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

2.7%

Top 16% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 2.7%

Patch available Yes

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +3

CVSS: +38

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

HTTP Request Smuggling HIGH

HTTP request smuggling exploits inconsistencies in how front-end and back-end servers parse HTTP message boundaries.

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.