CVE-2026-42581Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Request smuggling via retained HTTP/1.0 Content-Length

Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026

HTTP request smuggling in Netty before 4.1.133.Final and 4.2.0.Alpha1 through 4.2.12.Final allows remote attackers to smuggle requests. HttpObjectDecoder processes an HTTP/1.0 body as chunked but leaves a conflicting Content-Length header in the forwarded HttpMessage. Exploitation requires HTTP/1.0 access and a downstream Content-Length-first component, enabling cache poisoning or security-control bypass.

CVSS severity5.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.63%
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 Netty before 4.1.133.Final and 4.2.0.Alpha1 through 4.2.12.Final allows remote attackers to smuggle requests. HttpObjectDecoder processes an HTTP/1.0 body as chunked but leaves a conflicting Content-Length header in the forwarded HttpMessage. Exploitation requires HTTP/1.0 access and a downstream Content-Length-first component, enabling cache poisoning or security-control bypass.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-42581
Published
May 13, 2026
Updated
May 13, 2026
Vendor
The Netty Project
Product
Netty
Classifications
T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 13, 2026Record 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=< 4.1.133.Final
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 4.2.0.Alpha1, < 4.2.13.Final

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Netty Project · Nettyversion=< 4.1.133.Final; version=>= 4.2.0.Alpha1, < 4.2.13.Final

Published CVSS scores

5.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N
7.2redhat-SADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

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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