CVE-2026-1965
bad reuse of HTTP Negotiate connection
Description
libcurl can in some circumstances reuse the wrong connection when asked to do an Negotiate-authenticated HTTP or HTTPS request. libcurl features a pool of recent connections so that subsequent requests can reuse an existing connection to avoid overhead. When reusing a connection a range of criterion must first be met. Due to a logical error in the code, a request that was issued by an application could wrongfully reuse an existing connection to the same server that was authenticated using different credentials. One underlying reason being that Negotiate sometimes authenticates *connections* and not *requests*, contrary to how HTTP is designed to work. An application that allows Negotiate authentication to a server (that responds wanting Negotiate) with `user1:password1` and then does another operation to the same server also using Negotiate but with `user2:password2` (while the previous connection is still alive) - the second request wrongly reused the same connection and since it then sees that the Negotiate negotiation is already made, it just sends the request over that connection thinking it uses the user2 credentials when it is in fact still using the connection authenticated for user1... The set of authentication methods to use is set with `CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH`. Applications can disable libcurl's reuse of connections and thus mitigate this problem, by using one of the following libcurl options to alter how connections are or are not reused: `CURLOPT_FRESH_CONNECT`, `CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS` and `CURLMOPT_MAX_HOST_CONNECTIONS` (if using the curl_multi API).
INFO
Published Date :
March 11, 2026, 11:15 a.m.
Last Modified :
March 12, 2026, 2:11 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
2499f714-1537-4658-8207-48ae4bb9eae9
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 |
Solution
- Update libcurl to the latest version.
- Disable connection reuse using CURL_FRESH_CONNECT.
- Limit connections with CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS.
- Use multi API with CURLMOPT_MAX_HOST_CONNECTIONS.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2026-1965 has a 1 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-1965.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.html | Patch Vendor Advisory |
| https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.json | Vendor Advisory |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-1965 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-1965
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
None
Shell Python
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-1965 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-1965 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Mar. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:haxx:curl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 7.10.6 up to (excluding) 8.19.0 Added Reference Type curl: https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.html Types: Patch, Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type curl: https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.json Types: Vendor Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Mar. 11, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Added CWE CWE-305 -
New CVE Received by 2499f714-1537-4658-8207-48ae4bb9eae9
Mar. 11, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description libcurl can in some circumstances reuse the wrong connection when asked to do an Negotiate-authenticated HTTP or HTTPS request. libcurl features a pool of recent connections so that subsequent requests can reuse an existing connection to avoid overhead. When reusing a connection a range of criterion must first be met. Due to a logical error in the code, a request that was issued by an application could wrongfully reuse an existing connection to the same server that was authenticated using different credentials. One underlying reason being that Negotiate sometimes authenticates *connections* and not *requests*, contrary to how HTTP is designed to work. An application that allows Negotiate authentication to a server (that responds wanting Negotiate) with `user1:password1` and then does another operation to the same server also using Negotiate but with `user2:password2` (while the previous connection is still alive) - the second request wrongly reused the same connection and since it then sees that the Negotiate negotiation is already made, it just sends the request over that connection thinking it uses the user2 credentials when it is in fact still using the connection authenticated for user1... The set of authentication methods to use is set with `CURLOPT_HTTPAUTH`. Applications can disable libcurl's reuse of connections and thus mitigate this problem, by using one of the following libcurl options to alter how connections are or are not reused: `CURLOPT_FRESH_CONNECT`, `CURLOPT_MAXCONNECTS` and `CURLMOPT_MAX_HOST_CONNECTIONS` (if using the curl_multi API). Added Reference https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.html Added Reference https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2026-1965.json