Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach Netty HTTP/3 endpoint over network
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DeliveryCraft HEADERS frame with mismatched :authority and Host
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ExploitCodec accepts both conflicting authorities
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ExecutionFront-end and backend resolve different values
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ImpactBypass routing/vhost/access-control decision
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 | Requires the target to run Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final and to accept HTTP/3 (QUIC) connections from the network. Exploitation is remote and unauthenticated (PR:N/UI:N) with a single HEADERS frame carrying both |
| Impact | This is a genuine but moderate-severity integrity issue, not a critical remote-code-execution flaw. The vendor CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N) confirms a network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated attack with only LOW confidentiality and integrity impact and no availability impact, yielding a base score of 6.9 (MEDIUM). CWE-444 (inconsistent interpretation of HTTP requests / request smuggling) accurately captures the root cause: the HTTP/3 codec fails to enforce RFC 9114's requirement that a |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An unauthenticated remote attacker sends a single crafted HTTP/3 HEADERS frame containing both a |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Sep 26, 2026
Routing and access-control bypass in Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to send a single HEADERS frame with conflicting :authority and host header values, causing different components in a multi-component request path to make inconsistent decisions. This moderate-severity integrity issue is fixed in 4.2.18.Final; no public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to Netty 4.2.18.Final or later; this is the vendor-released patch that fixes the issue (see https://github.com/netty/netty/security/advisories/GHSA-q9pg-8h3j-8hvm). If immediate upgrade is not possible, consider disabling HTTP/3 (QUIC) support in Netty, which eliminates the attack vector but may reduce performance and break HTTP/3-dependent clients. Alternatively, enforce validation at the edge (e.g., in a reverse proxy or load balancer) to reject any HTTP/3 request where the :authority pseudo-header and the host header are both present and differ, though this requires consistent configuration across all components and may not cover all request paths. Restricting network access to HTTP/3 endpoints to trusted clients can also reduce exposure, but it is not a complete fix. Note that the impact only materializes in multi-component architectures where different components consult different authority fields, so ensuring all components use the same field for routing and access-control decisions can mitigate the risk.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability is an instance of CWE-444 (Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests), often referred to as request smuggling, but in the HTTP/3 context. Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) processes HTTP/3 over QUIC. RFC 9114 requires that if both the :authority pseudo-header and a literal host header are present, they must have identical values. The codec in versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final does not enforce this, allowing a single HEADERS frame to carry both fields with differing values. This inconsistency can be exploited when a front-end proxy or gateway and a back-end application both process the same request but rely on different authority fields for routing, virtual-host selection, or access-control decisions. The impact is limited to multi-component architectures; a single monolithic consumer that reads only one field is not affected. HTTP/3 must be enabled and reachable for exploitation. The CPE string is cpe:2.3:a:netty:netty:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* and the fix is in 4.2.18.Final.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Unauthenticated single-frame network attack (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); scope changes because one component's authority decision affects a separate downstream component (S:C); impact is limited routing/access-control bypass, not full data or availability compromise (C:L/I:L/A:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) in versions 4.2.0.Final through 4.2.17.Final does not enforce the RFC 9114 requirement that the :authority pseudo-header field and a literal host header field, when both present, carry the same value. A remote unauthenticated peer can send a single HEADERS frame containing both fields with differing, attacker-controlled values; the request is accepted and delivered to the application with two conflicting authorities, allowing routing, virtual-host, and access-control decisions to be bypassed when different components in the request path consult different fields. This issue is fixed in 4.2.18.Final.
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
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Memory-amplification denial of service in the Netty network framework (SPDY/3.1 codec) prior to 4.1.136.Final and 4.2.16
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Denial of service in the Netty HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) prior to version 4.2.15.Final allows remote una
EUVD-2026-87753
GHSA-7j27-hw46-m8m8
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB