IP address spoofing via trusted forwarding headers
Published Dec 22, 2022 · Updated Apr 15, 2025
Insufficient data-authenticity checks in CodeIgniter 4 before 4.2.11 allow remote attackers to spoof client IP addresses through proxy headers. RequestTrait::getIPAddress accepts the first syntactically valid value from several client-controlled forwarding headers whenever REMOTE_ADDR matches a configured proxy, rather than binding that proxy to one trusted header. The flaw is reachable only behind a trusted reverse proxy when application logic relies on the returned address, allowing IP-based logging or access decisions to be falsified.
Summary
What happened
Insufficient data-authenticity checks in CodeIgniter 4 before 4.2.11 allow remote attackers to spoof client IP addresses through proxy headers. RequestTrait::getIPAddress accepts the first syntactically valid value from several client-controlled forwarding headers whenever REMOTE_ADDR matches a configured proxy, rather than binding that proxy to one trusted header. The flaw is reachable only behind a trusted reverse proxy when application logic relies on the returned address, allowing IP-based logging or access decisions to be falsified.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-23556
- Published
- Dec 22, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 15, 2025
- Vendor
- CodeIgniter Foundation
- Product
- CodeIgniter 4
- Classifications
- CWE-345
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 22, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 15, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 4.2.11
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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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