Caddy: FastCGI header normalization bypass in `forward_auth copy_headers`

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API Print: PDF PDF

Summary

CVECVE-2026-52845
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-06-23 18:18:05 UTC
Updated2026-06-23 19:34:58 UTC
DescriptionCaddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. Prior to 2.11.4, forward_auth copy_headers deletes the exact client-supplied identity header before copying the trusted value from the auth gateway. But when the request later goes through php_fastcgi, Caddy normalizes HTTP headers into CGI variables by replacing - with _. This lets a client send an underscore alias that survives the forward_auth delete step but becomes the same PHP/FastCGI variable. Result: a remote client can inject or sometimes override identity/group headers trusted by PHP/FastCGI applications behind Caddy. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.11.4.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.1 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Problem Types: CWE-287 | CWE-290 | CWE-444 | CWE-287 CWE-287: Improper Authentication | CWE-290 CWE-290: Authentication Bypass by Spoofing | CWE-444 CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary8.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.1CNADECLARED8.1HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Caddyserver Caddy affected < 2.11.4 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/caddyserver/caddy/security/advisories/GHSA-f59h-q822-g45g [email protected] github.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis
© CVE.report 2026 |

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

Free CVE JSON API cve.report/api

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report