CVE-2024-9681

Public Exploit
HSTS subdomain overwrites parent cache entry

Description

When curl is asked to use HSTS, the expiry time for a subdomain might overwrite a parent domain's cache entry, making it end sooner or later than otherwise intended. This affects curl using applications that enable HSTS and use URLs with the insecure `HTTP://` scheme and perform transfers with hosts like `x.example.com` as well as `example.com` where the first host is a subdomain of the second host. (The HSTS cache either needs to have been populated manually or there needs to have been previous HTTPS accesses done as the cache needs to have entries for the domains involved to trigger this problem.) When `x.example.com` responds with `Strict-Transport-Security:` headers, this bug can make the subdomain's expiry timeout *bleed over* and get set for the parent domain `example.com` in curl's HSTS cache. The result of a triggered bug is that HTTP accesses to `example.com` get converted to HTTPS for a different period of time than what was asked for by the origin server. If `example.com` for example stops supporting HTTPS at its expiry time, curl might then fail to access `http://example.com` until the (wrongly set) timeout expires. This bug can also expire the parent's entry *earlier*, thus making curl inadvertently switch back to insecure HTTP earlier than otherwise intended.

Category

6.5
CVSS
Severity: Medium
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.20%
Vendor Advisory curl.se Vendor Advisory curl.se
Affected: curl curl
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-9681?
CVE-2024-9681 has been scored as a medium severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-9681?
To fix CVE-2024-9681, 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-2024-9681 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2024-9681 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. 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-2024-9681?
CVE-2024-9681 affects curl curl.
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