CVE-2024-37891

Proxy-Authorization request header isn't stripped during cross-origin redirects in urllib3

Description

urllib3 is a user-friendly HTTP client library for Python. When using urllib3's proxy support with `ProxyManager`, the `Proxy-Authorization` header is only sent to the configured proxy, as expected. However, when sending HTTP requests *without* using urllib3's proxy support, it's possible to accidentally configure the `Proxy-Authorization` header even though it won't have any effect as the request is not using a forwarding proxy or a tunneling proxy. In those cases, urllib3 doesn't treat the `Proxy-Authorization` HTTP header as one carrying authentication material and thus doesn't strip the header on cross-origin redirects. Because this is a highly unlikely scenario, we believe the severity of this vulnerability is low for almost all users. Out of an abundance of caution urllib3 will automatically strip the `Proxy-Authorization` header during cross-origin redirects to avoid the small chance that users are doing this on accident. Users should use urllib3's proxy support or disable automatic redirects to achieve safe processing of the `Proxy-Authorization` header, but we still decided to strip the header by default in order to further protect users who aren't using the correct approach. We believe the number of usages affected by this advisory is low. It requires all of the following to be true to be exploited: 1. Setting the `Proxy-Authorization` header without using urllib3's built-in proxy support. 2. Not disabling HTTP redirects. 3. Either not using an HTTPS origin server or for the proxy or target origin to redirect to a malicious origin. Users are advised to update to either version 1.26.19 or version 2.2.2. Users unable to upgrade may use the `Proxy-Authorization` header with urllib3's `ProxyManager`, disable HTTP redirects using `redirects=False` when sending requests, or not user the `Proxy-Authorization` header as mitigations.

Category

4.4
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.03%
Affected: urllib3 urllib3
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-37891?
CVE-2024-37891 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-37891?
To fix CVE-2024-37891, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2024-37891 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2024-37891 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2024-37891?
CVE-2024-37891 affects urllib3 urllib3.
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