tinyproxy: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests
CVE-2026-54388 is a critical-severity inconsistent interpretation of HTTP requests vulnerability in tinyproxy, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected tinyproxy versions: 1.11.3 and earlier. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.44% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of tinyproxy you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
Affected products and versions
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- NoneAvailability is not affected.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA (vulncheck.com).
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | 9.3 | Critical | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.1 | Critical | CNA (vulncheck.com) |
Official description
Tinyproxy through 1.11.3, fixed in commit 364cdb6, fails to reject requests containing multiple Content-Length headers with differing values, forwarding all duplicate headers to the backend while using the first value to determine how many request body bytes to consume. Remote attackers can desynchronize the proxy and backend parser state, allowing injection of arbitrary HTTP requests to the backend to enable cache poisoning, access control bypass, and request hijacking.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests
The product acts as an intermediary HTTP agent (such as a proxy or firewall) in the data flow between two entities such as a client and server, but it does not interpret malformed HTTP requests or responses in ways that are consistent with how the messages will be processed by those entities that are at the ultimate destination.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a web server that employs a strict HTTP parsing procedure, such as Apache.
- Terminate the client session after each request.
More Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests vulnerabilities (CWE-444)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in tinyproxy
- 8.2 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
Recent Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 6.5 Medium severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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