Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach ATS with header_rewrite enabled
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DeliverySend crafted Cookie/CIDR-triggering request
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ExploitTrigger out-of-bounds write in plugin
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ExecutionCorrupt memory or crash proxy
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ImpactDenial of service on edge tier
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that the target Apache Traffic Server has the header_rewrite plugin loaded AND configured with either cookie operations or CIDR condition matching - this is the concrete prerequisite encoded by the CVSS 4.0 AT:P (Attack Requirement Present) bit and stated in the description. Given AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, once such a ruleset is deployed the flaw is reachable by remote, unauthenticated attackers with no user interaction by sending requests that exercise the cookie or CIDR logic. The main limiting factor is configuration-dependence: ATS instances that do not use header_rewrite, or that use it without cookie/CIDR rules, are not exploitable; affected versions are limited to 8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, and 10.0.0-10.1.3. |
| Impact | The vendor CVSS 4.0 score is 8.3 (High) with vector AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H - network-reachable, unauthenticated, low complexity, but with an explicit Attack Requirement (AT:P) and impact dominated by availability. The AT:P bit and the description are the key nuance: exploitation is only possible when the header_rewrite plugin is actually loaded AND configured with cookie operations or CIDR conditions, so this is not a blanket 'any ATS is exploitable' issue. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC was provided, so there is no evidence of active exploitation or public exploit code - the risk is currently theoretical-but-serious rather than urgent-in-the-wild. Real priority is high for deployments that use header_rewrite with those features (edge/CDN operators commonly do); for deployments without the plugin or without cookie/CIDR rules, real-world risk is low despite the high base score. The VC:L suggests possible limited memory disclosure, but the dominant, confirmed impact is a remotely triggerable crash (DoS) of the proxy. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker sends crafted HTTP requests with malformed or oversized Cookie headers (or from source IPs designed to exercise CIDR matching) to an ATS instance whose header_rewrite ruleset performs cookie operations or CIDR condition checks, driving the plugin to write out of bounds and crash the proxy, causing a denial of service for all traffic behind it. Because the vector is network and unauthenticated (PR:N/UI:N), repeated requests can keep the edge tier offline. No public POC is currently identified, so this scenario is inferred from the CVSS vector and CWE-787 description. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Jul 29, 2026
Out-of-bounds memory write in the Apache Traffic Server header_rewrite plugin allows remote attackers to crash the proxy or corrupt memory by triggering the plugin's cookie-manipulation and CIDR condition-matching logic. The flaw affects ATS 8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, and 10.0.0-10.1.3, and is reachable over the network without authentication (PR:N) when a vulnerable header_rewrite ruleset is deployed. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; the primary consequence is denial of service (VA:H) with limited information exposure (VC:L).
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
Memory corruption and crash in Apache Traffic Server's header_rewrite plugin expose unauthenticated remote attackers to denial of service and potential memory disclosure across all 8.x, 9.x, and 10.x version branches. The flaw (CWE-787 out-of-bounds write) is triggered during two specific plugin operations - cookie header manipulation and CIDR-based condition matching - making it exploitable against any ATS deployment with the header_rewrite plugin active and relevant rules configured. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, but the network-accessible, zero-authentication attack vector and high availability impact (CVSS 8.2) make this a priority patch across all supported branches.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Apache Traffic Server 9.2.15 (for 8.x and 9.x lines) or 10.1.4 (for 10.x), which fix the issue per the Apache advisory (https://lists.apache.org/thread/5prl9glcm9g2swnq9hqxvnokylm1gr6d). Note the 8.x line has no dedicated fixed 8.x release listed, so 8.0.0-8.1.9 users must move to 9.2.15 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, the most direct compensating control is to remove or disable the header_rewrite plugin, or strip the specific cookie-manipulation operators and CIDR conditions from remap/global rulesets - the trade-off is loss of any header-rewriting behavior those rules provide (cookie normalization, IP-range-based routing/ACLs), which may break dependent functionality. Where header_rewrite must stay, restrict which upstreams and clients can reach the affected rules and monitor for proxy crashes/restarts as a detection signal.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Apache Traffic Server is a high-performance HTTP caching proxy and reverse proxy widely used in CDN and edge-caching tiers. The bug lives in header_rewrite, a first-class plugin that lets operators rewrite request/response headers using declarative rulesets, including cookie operations and conditions that match client IPs against CIDR ranges. The root cause is CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write): during cookie parsing/rewriting and CIDR comparison the plugin writes outside allocated bounds, which the vendor characterizes as a crash or memory corruption. The tags (Buffer Overflow, Memory Corruption) and CWE-787 both point to unsafe length/bounds handling on attacker-influenced header and address data processed inside the plugin.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Network-reachable and unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N), but requires a specific header_rewrite cookie/CIDR configuration (AC:H); impact is mainly a crash (A:H) with limited memory exposure (C:L).
Primary rating from Vendor (apache).
CVSS VectorVendor: apache
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
The Apache Traffic Server header_rewrite plugin can crash or corrupt memory during cookie operations and CIDR condition matching.
This issue affects Apache Traffic Server: from 8.0.0 through 8.1.9, from 9.0.0 through 9.2.14, from 10.0.0 through 10.1.3.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 9.2.15 or 10.1.4, which fix the issue.
Executive ViewAI
Apache Traffic Server (versions 8.0-10.1) contains a critical unauthenticated remote denial-of-service vulnerability in the header_rewrite plugin that can crash proxy infrastructure and corrupt memory without any authentication required. Organizations operating ATS at the network edge face service outages and potential data exposure. Immediate containment is required because no vendor patch is currently available.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: network-level access controls restricting connections to affected ATS instances to trusted sources only; rate limiting and header validation at ingress to block malformed requests; removal of header_rewrite rules if operationally feasible; continuous monitoring of proxy process stability and crash logs; and failover to unaffected proxy tiers to maintain service availability.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
More in Apache Traffic Server
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Remote denial of service in Apache Traffic Server (8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, 10.0.0-10.1.3) allows unauthenticated atta
Out-of-bounds write and integer overflow in Apache Traffic Server's MIME and HTTP header parsing lets remote attackers c
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Response-framing desync in Apache Traffic Server (8.0.0 through 8.1.11, 9.0.0 through 9.2.15, 10.0.0 through 10.1.4, and
Request smuggling in Apache Traffic Server 8.0.0 through 8.1.11, 9.0.0 through 9.2.15, 10.0.0 through 10.1.4, and 10.2.0
Unauthenticated remote attackers can drive HTTP transactions to completion against Apache Traffic Server instances that
Denial of service in Apache Traffic Server 8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, and 10.0.0-10.1.3 lets remote unauthenticated atta
Apache Traffic Server 9.2.15, 10.1.4, and 10.2.0 can be driven into a denial-of-service condition through log amplificat
Out-of-bounds write and limit-bypass flaws in several experimental plugins shipped with Apache Traffic Server (8.0.0-8.1
Improper certificate generation in the Apache Traffic Server certifier plugin lets remote attackers dictate the contents
Memory corruption in Apache Traffic Server's remap configuration handling lets remote attackers trigger a use-after-free
EUVD-2026-50229
GHSA-m68v-95hx-r5c3
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB