CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-9697NVD status: Modified

undici: Improper Certificate Validation

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-9697 is a high-severity improper certificate validation vulnerability in undici, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 7.28.0, 8.5.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating undici to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.46% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update undici to 7.28.0 or 8.5.0, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on cna.openjsf.org for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Undiciundici7.23.0 up to, but not including, 7.28.0; 8.0.0 up to, but not including, 8.5.07.28.0, 8.5.0
Red HatCryostat 4 on RHEL 9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatCluster Observability Operator 1.5.0Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Developer Hub 1.10Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Developer Hub 1.9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Hardened ImagesNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 2.25Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI 3.4Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.16Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.17Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.18Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.19Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Openshift Data Foundation 4.20Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces 3.29Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatCryostat 4Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatOpenShift PipelinesNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat AMQ Broker 7Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Build of Podman DesktopNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI)Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatSelf-service automation portal 2Not specified in the recordNot stated

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
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
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:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by CNA.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.4HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.4HighCNA

Official description

Impact: undici's ProxyAgent silently drops the requestTls option when configured with a SOCKS5 proxy URI (socks5:// or socks://). The target HTTPS connection through the SOCKS5 tunnel falls back to Node's default trust store, ignoring user-configured ca, cert, key, rejectUnauthorized, and servername settings. Applications that pin to an internal or corporate CA via requestTls.ca will, when their proxy URI is SOCKS5, get the default Mozilla CA bundle as the trust anchor instead. Any cert signed by any publicly-trusted CA for the target hostname is accepted, breaking the intended pin and enabling MITM read and tamper of the HTTPS exchange. Affected applications are those that use undici's ProxyAgent (or Socks5ProxyAgent directly) with SOCKS5 AND rely on requestTls for TLS scope restriction. The bug was introduced in undici 7.23.0 when SOCKS5 support was added. Patches: Upgrade to undici v7.28.0 or v8.5.0. Workarounds: No workaround is available within the SOCKS5 path. If a SOCKS5 proxy with TLS scope restriction is required and an upgrade is not yet possible, route the traffic through an HTTP-proxy ProxyAgent instead, where requestTls is honored correctly.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Improper Certificate Validation

The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Certificates should be carefully managed and checked to assure that data are encrypted with the intended owner's public key.
  • If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.

More Improper Certificate Validation vulnerabilities (CWE-295)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in undici

All undici vulnerabilities

Recent Improper Certificate Validation vulnerabilities

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