CVE-2014-9720Network attack vector

XSRF token disclosure via unmasked compressed responses

Published Jan 24, 2020 · Updated Aug 6, 2024

Information disclosure in Tornado before 3.2.2 allows remote attackers to recover an XSRF token by measuring compressed response sizes. RequestHandler.xsrf_token reflects the same unmasked cookie secret in responses, so adaptive input guesses create observable size differences under HTTP compression. Exposure requires xsrf_cookies plus Tornado gzip or proxy compression and victim interaction; successful recovery reveals the anti-CSRF secret.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability2.51%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Tornado before 3.2.2 allows remote attackers to recover an XSRF token by measuring compressed response sizes. RequestHandler.xsrf_token reflects the same unmasked cookie secret in responses, so adaptive input guesses create observable size differences under HTTP compression. Exposure requires xsrf_cookies plus Tornado gzip or proxy compression and victim interaction; successful recovery reveals the anti-CSRF secret.

The record

CVE
CVE-2014-9720
Published
Jan 24, 2020
Updated
Aug 6, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-203
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 24, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 6, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.1GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
6.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
4.3NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-203Observable Discrepancy

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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