Bug 2541881 (CVE-2026-100664)

Summary: CVE-2026-100664 io.netty/netty-codec-http3: Netty: Security bypass via HTTP Host header authority confusion
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
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Priority: high    
Version: unspecifiedCC: sdawley
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in Netty's HTTP/3 codec. When converting HTTP/1 requests to HTTP/3, the codec improperly prioritizes the Host header over the request-target authority. A remote, unauthenticated attacker can exploit this authority confusion by sending a request containing conflicting destination details through an intermediary proxy or gateway. This flaw can lead to security bypasses, enabling attackers to circumvent access controls, route traffic to unintended backend systems, or poison web caches.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-26 13:39:28 UTC
Netty's HTTP/3 codec (io.netty:netty-codec-http3) versions 4.2.2.Final through 4.2.17.Final builds the HTTP/3 :authority pseudo-header from the HTTP/1 Host header before considering the authority of an absolute-form HTTP/1 request-target. In HttpConversionUtil.toHttp3Headers(HttpMessage, boolean) — reached via Http3FrameToHttpObjectCodec(false) — a non-empty Host header takes precedence over the request-target authority, contrary to the HTTP/1.1 rule that a server receiving an absolute-form request-target must ignore the Host header. In a Netty-based HTTP/1-to-HTTP/3 gateway, proxy, or protocol bridge, a remote client can send a request such as "GET https://trusted.example/admin HTTP/1.1" with "Host: attacker.example", causing components that validate, authorize, or route on the RFC-defined request-target authority to reach a different decision than the upstream HTTP/3 peer, which receives :authority derived from the conflicting Host header. This authority confusion can affect virtual-host routing, allow-list checks, backend selection, cache keys, and URL generation. The advisory reports integrity impact only (no code execution, memory corruption, or availability impact). Fixed in 4.2.18.Final.