Unauthenticated server crash via empty vector access
Published May 29, 2026 · Updated May 29, 2026
Denial of service in Yuji Hirose cpp-httplib before 0.44.0 allows remote attackers to crash HTTP servers via a malformed X-Forwarded-For header. In get_client_ip(), parsing an empty, comma-only, or whitespace-only header leaves ip_list empty, yet the function calls vector::front() without checking it. The path is reachable only when Server::set_trusted_proxies() has a non-empty list; deployments without trusted proxies do not enter the crash path.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Yuji Hirose cpp-httplib before 0.44.0 allows remote attackers to crash HTTP servers via a malformed X-Forwarded-For header. In get_client_ip(), parsing an empty, comma-only, or whitespace-only header leaves ip_list empty, yet the function calls vector::front() without checking it. The path is reachable only when Server::set_trusted_proxies() has a non-empty list; deployments without trusted proxies do not enter the crash path.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-46527
- Published
- May 29, 2026
- Updated
- May 29, 2026
- Vendor
- Yuji Hirose
- Product
- cpp-httplib
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 29, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 29, 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 0.44.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA-hg3g-vrg8-578g proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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