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libevent EUVDEUVD-2026-63563

| CVE-2026-63385 CRITICAL
HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CWE-444)
2026-08-20 security-advisories@github.com
9.2
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: github
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Identify libevent evhttp behind divergent proxy
  2. Delivery
    Craft request with obs-fold header or %00 path
  3. Exploit
    Proxy and libevent parse framing differently
  4. Execution
    Smuggle request or truncate validated path
  5. Impact
    Bypass access control / inject headers

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V4 - API and Web Service HTTP request consistency
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires libevent's evhttp HTTP server or client to be deployed behind (or in front of) a separate HTTP intermediary - a proxy, load balancer, or WAF - whose header/URI parsing differs from libevent's; the CVSS AT:P flag reflects this required parser-discrepancy prerequisite. Concretely, the CRLF vector needs the intermediary to accept obsolete line folding (CR/LF in header values) that libevent previously also accepted, and the URI vector needs a validation step that inspects a different representation of the path than the NUL-truncated string libevent ultimately uses. Limiting factors: no authentication is required (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N), but a standalone libevent HTTP endpoint with no divergent intermediary is not exploitable for smuggling, and the impact depends on what access-control or routing logic relies on the differing interpretation.

Impact

The supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (9.2, AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L) rates this critical, but the AT:P (Attack Requirements: Present) flag is the key qualifier - successful smuggling depends on a specific upstream proxy whose parsing diverges from libevent's, so this is not a universal one-shot RCE. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC was provided: no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and there is no evidence of active exploitation, so the score reflects potential impact rather than demonstrated mass exploitability. A significant caveat: the description explicitly states the reviewed patches fix the CRLF acceptance but do NOT clearly remediate the URI %00 NUL-truncation condition, so upgrading may only close one of the two weaknesses - verify the URI decoding behavior with the vendor advisory. Real-world priority is elevated by libevent's broad embedding but tempered by the proxy-interaction requirement and absence of exploitation signals.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker sends a single crafted HTTP request through a fronting proxy that treats obs-fold or an embedded %00 differently than libevent does; the proxy authorizes or routes based on one interpretation while libevent acts on another, smuggling a hidden request or a truncated path past access-control checks. For example, a path like /public/admin%00.html may pass a proxy allowlist yet be truncated to /public/admin by libevent's NUL-terminated string handling. No POC is provided, and the AT:P requirement means the attacker needs a proxy/backend pair whose parsers actually diverge.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Aug 20, 2026

HTTP request smuggling and header injection in libevent's http.c allow remote unauthenticated attackers to desynchronize an upstream proxy from libevent's own parsing, bypassing access controls. Affected are all versions prior to 2.1.13-stable and 2.2.2-alpha, where evhttp_header_is_valid_value accepted obsolete CRLF line folding in header values and evhttp_decode_uri_internal decoded %00 into literal NUL bytes that truncate paths in downstream C string operations. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; the CRLF weakness is patched in 2.1.13/2.2.2-alpha, but the URI NUL-truncation condition is not clearly remediated by the reviewed patches.

RemediationAI

Upgrade libevent to the vendor-released patched versions 2.1.13-stable (https://github.com/libevent/libevent/releases/tag/release-2.1.13-stable) or 2.2.2-alpha (https://github.com/libevent/libevent/releases/tag/release-2.2.2-alpha), per advisory GHSA-jcwh-pvf2-73p2; applications that bundle libevent must rebuild and redistribute. Because the reviewed patches close the CRLF header-injection path but do not clearly fix the %00 URI NUL-truncation, do not rely on the upgrade alone for the URI issue: as compensating controls, normalize and reject percent-encoded %00 in request paths at the fronting proxy or WAF before they reach libevent, and configure the upstream proxy to reject any request containing bare CR/LF or obs-fold in headers (side effect: legacy clients relying on obsolete folding will break, which is acceptable per RFC 7230). Where the evhttp server sits behind a reverse proxy, ensure both tiers enforce identical, strict framing to remove the interpretation gap that enables smuggling.

Affected VersionsENISA

libevent 2.2.0-alpha, < 2.2.2-alpha
libevent < 2.1.13

Affected Packages

euvd libevent fix: 2.1.13
euvd libevent_2_2_0_alpha fix: 2.2.2-alpha

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 2 packages in euvd

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

libevent is a widely embedded C event-notification library whose optional evhttp module provides a lightweight HTTP/1.1 server and client used inside larger applications rather than as a standalone web server. The root cause maps to CWE-444 (Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests / request smuggling): two parsing routines disagree with a fronting proxy about message framing. First, evhttp_header_is_valid_value used strpbrk/strspn to permit deprecated 'obs-fold' line folding, tolerating CR/LF inside header values; the fix in commit 758be0c0 replaces this with an outright rejection of any value containing CR or LF (the regression test now asserts evhttp_add_header returns -1 for 'Two\r\n Three'). Second, evhttp_decode_uri_internal percent-decodes %00 into a NUL byte, so a validator inspecting the encoded or full string and a later C string operation that stops at the NUL see different paths, enabling validation bypass via truncation.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (github) PRIMARY 9.2 CRITICAL
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N
vuln.today AI 8.7 HIGH

Network and unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N) but AC:H because it needs a proxy whose parsing diverges; S:C as the impact crosses into a separate backend, with high confidentiality/integrity from access bypass and smuggling.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N
SUSE 7.7 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Red Hat 7.7 HIGH

Primary rating from Vendor (github).

CVSS VectorVendor: github

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
Present
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
High
Vulnerable system: Integrity
High
Vulnerable system: Availability
Low
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
Low
Subsequent system: Integrity
Low
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Aug 20, 2026 - 19:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 20, 2026 - 18:16 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.2

DescriptionCVE.org

Libevent is an event notification library. Prior to 2.1.13 and 2.2.2-alpha, libevent has two HTTP parsing weaknesses in http.c. evhttp_decode_uri_internal decodes percent-encoded %00 bytes into literal NUL characters, which can cause downstream C string operations to truncate a path and bypass validation performed on a different representation. evhttp_header_is_valid_value also accepts obsolete line folding in header values containing carriage return or line feed characters, allowing a proxy and libevent to interpret headers differently and enabling header injection or access control bypass. The CRLF header acceptance is fixed in versions 2.1.13 and 2.2.2-alpha, but the reviewed patches do not clearly remediate the URI NUL-truncation condition.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A critical vulnerability in libevent (CVE-2026-63385, CVSS 9.2) enables remote attackers to bypass HTTP proxy authentication and access controls through request smuggling, affecting organizations that rely on libevent in web servers, proxies, and network appliances. No vendor patch is currently available, requiring immediate identification of affected systems and interim defensive measures. Any application or infrastructure component using libevent versions prior to 2.1.13-stable or 2.2.2-alpha is exploitable without authentication.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

Deploy Web Application Firewall rules blocking CRLF injection patterns in HTTP headers and null bytes (%00) in request URIs; enforce network-layer segmentation to limit untrusted external access to affected systems; implement request signing or mutual TLS authentication between upstream proxies and backend services to prevent header manipulation; enable continuous monitoring and alerting for suspicious header folding or URI encoding patterns; maintain detailed request and response logging for forensic analysis.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.4%
Top 66% exploitable
Prevalence
High
widely embedded async library, though HTTP/evhttp module is an optional subset
Data Quality
8 sources
Confidence: High
EUVD NVD CVE.org EPSS Vulnrichment MSRC Vendor GitHub VulDB

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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
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
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
Very High
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

46
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +46
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

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

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 Affected

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