CVE-2021-20220Network attack vector

HTTP request smuggling via invalid characters

Published Feb 23, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

HTTP request smuggling in Red Hat Undertow 2.2.0.Final, 2.1.6.Final and 2.0.34.Final allows remote attackers to poison caches, trigger XSS, or obtain other users' data via HTTP/1.x or HTTP/2 requests. The HTTP request parser accepts invalid characters in request targets, schemes, authorities, and methods; the corrective commit adds strict character validation for these fields in both HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2 handling. Exploitation requires a network path through a proxy or cache that interprets the malformed request differently, enabling cache poisoning, cross-request data disclosure, or XSS.

CVSS severity4.8
Medium
EPSS probability1.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

HTTP request smuggling in Red Hat Undertow 2.2.0.Final, 2.1.6.Final and 2.0.34.Final allows remote attackers to poison caches, trigger XSS, or obtain other users' data via HTTP/1.x or HTTP/2 requests. The HTTP request parser accepts invalid characters in request targets, schemes, authorities, and methods; the corrective commit adds strict character validation for these fields in both HTTP/1.x and HTTP/2 handling. Exploitation requires a network path through a proxy or cache that interprets the malformed request differently, enabling cache poisoning, cross-request data disclosure, or XSS.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-20220
Published
Feb 23, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Red Hat
Product
Undertow
Classifications
CWE-444, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 23, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Undertow 2.2.0.Final, Undertow 2.1.6.Final, Undertow 2.0.34.Final

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Red Hat · Undertowversion=Undertow 2.2.0.Final, Undertow 2.1.6.Final, Undertow 2.0.34.Final

Published CVSS scores

4.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-444Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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