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GHSA-8423-8FGW-73VQ

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-01 20:17 – Updated: 2026-09-01 20:17
VLAI
Summary
tornado: multipart split() creates huge temp list before max_parts check -> memory amplification DoS (httputil.py:34)
Details

Description

Summary

parse_multipart_form_data (httputil.py:34) calls data.split(b"--"+boundary+b"\r\n") before the max_parts check (:35). A 600KB body with 100k parts creates a 100k-element transient list first, then rejects transient memory amplification (each split element is a copy). Pre-auth HTTP DoS.

Root cause

parts = data[:final_boundary_index].split(b"--" + boundary + b"\r\n")  # :34  huge list first
if len(parts) > config.max_parts:                                       # :35  check after
    raise HTTPInputError("multipart/form-data has too many parts")

PoC

gist: https://gist.github.com/afldl/649861f25d39b53b7edbe0298e171617 poc.py + output.txt (100k parts from 600KB transient list).

Fix

Count separators without materializing the list (e.g. data.count(b"--"+boundary) first).

Credit

Reported by afldl, 2026-07.

Severity
6.9 (Medium)
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 6.5.7"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "PyPI",
        "name": "tornado"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "6.5.8"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-770"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-09-01T20:17:38Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "## Description\n\n### Summary\n\n`parse_multipart_form_data` (httputil.py:34) calls\n`data.split(b\"--\"+boundary+b\"\\r\\n\")` **before** the `max_parts` check (:35).\nA 600KB body with 100k parts creates a 100k-element transient list first,\nthen rejects   transient memory amplification (each split element is a copy).\nPre-auth HTTP DoS.\n\n### Root cause\n\n```python\nparts = data[:final_boundary_index].split(b\"--\" + boundary + b\"\\r\\n\")  # :34  huge list first\nif len(parts) \u003e config.max_parts:                                       # :35  check after\n    raise HTTPInputError(\"multipart/form-data has too many parts\")\n```\n\n### PoC\n\ngist: https://gist.github.com/afldl/649861f25d39b53b7edbe0298e171617\n`poc.py` + `output.txt` (100k parts from 600KB   transient list).\n\n### Fix\n\nCount separators without materializing the list (e.g. `data.count(b\"--\"+boundary)` first).\n\n### Credit\n\nReported by afldl, 2026-07.",
  "id": "GHSA-8423-8fgw-73vq",
  "modified": "2026-09-01T20:17:38Z",
  "published": "2026-09-01T20:17:38Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado/security/advisories/GHSA-8423-8fgw-73vq"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado/pull/3704"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado/commit/de85b3f87446e323e881bbaa3d5a74f4b76e5f05"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://gist.github.com/afldl/649861f25d39b53b7edbe0298e171617"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/tornadoweb/tornado/releases/tag/v6.5.8"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V4"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "tornado: multipart split() creates huge temp list before max_parts check -\u003e memory amplification DoS (httputil.py:34)"
}



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