Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Pre-auth attacker-controlled SNI over the network (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) crashes the process for availability-only impact (A:H, C:N/I:N), no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (apache).
CVSS VectorVendor: apache
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
Apache Traffic Server can crash from null dereferences and dangling references in TLS and SNI handling.
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.
Articles & Coverage 1
AnalysisAI
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 attackers to crash the proxy by triggering NULL pointer dereferences and dangling references during TLS and SNI processing. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/A:H) reflects a network-reachable, low-complexity availability impact with no confidentiality or integrity loss. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, but the flaw is Apache-reported and patched in 9.2.15 and 10.1.4.
Technical ContextAI
Apache Traffic Server (ATS) is a high-performance forward and reverse caching HTTP/HTTPS proxy widely used as an edge and CDN layer. The vulnerability lives in its TLS termination and Server Name Indication (SNI) handling code, where the server inspects the client-supplied SNI value during the TLS handshake to select the appropriate certificate/routing context. The root cause is CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), compounded by use of dangling references - pointers to objects whose lifetime has ended. When ATS processes certain TLS/SNI conditions, code paths dereference a pointer that is null or references freed/out-of-scope state, causing the process to crash. Because SNI is parsed before authentication and is fully attacker-controlled, the parsing logic is reachable by any client that can open a TLS connection.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Apache Traffic Server 9.2.15 (for the 9.x branch) or 10.1.4 (for the 10.x branch) as the primary and complete fix. Deployments still on the 8.0.0-8.1.9 branch should migrate to a supported 9.2.15+ or 10.1.4+ release since no 8.x fix is offered. If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure by restricting who can reach the TLS listener - place ATS behind an upstream TLS terminator or load balancer that validates/normalizes SNI before traffic reaches ATS, or firewall the HTTPS port to trusted client ranges (trade-off: breaks open/public proxy use cases and CDN edge reachability). Monitor for repeated process crashes/restarts and enable automatic process supervision (traffic_manager/systemd restart) to limit outage duration as a stopgap only. Full details are in the Apache advisory: https://lists.apache.org/thread/5prl9glcm9g2swnq9hqxvnokylm1gr6d.
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Out-of-bounds memory write in the Apache Traffic Server header_rewrite plugin allows remote attackers to crash the proxy
Memory corruption in the Cripts scripting framework of Apache Traffic Server (versions 10.0.0 through 10.1.3) allows rem
Denial of service in Apache Traffic Server (versions 8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, and 10.0.0-10.1.3) arises from a stack-b
Denial of service in the Apache Traffic Server ESI (Edge Side Includes) plugin allows remote unauthenticated attackers t
Denial of service in Apache Traffic Server (versions 8.0.0-8.1.9, 9.0.0-9.2.14, and 10.0.0-10.1.3) arises from a memory
Same weakness CWE-476 – NULL Pointer Dereference
View allSame technique Denial Of Service
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-50217
GHSA-29wv-p4qw-p36r