CVE-2026-43968
CR Injection in SSE Encoder Enables Event Splitting via cow_sse:event/1
Description
Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows SSE event splitting and injection via unvalidated field values. cow_sse:event/1 in cowlib guards the id and event fields against \n but not against bare \r, and the internal prefix_lines/2 function used for data and comment fields splits only on \n. Because the SSE specification requires decoders to treat \r\n, \r, and \n as equivalent line terminators, an attacker who controls any of these fields can inject additional SSE lines and forge a complete event with an arbitrary event type and data payload on the receiving end. In typical deployments where browser EventSource clients or other SSE consumers dispatch on event.type and render event.data, this enables event splitting, client-side logic manipulation, and stored-XSS-equivalent behaviour when event data is inserted into the DOM. This issue affects cowlib from 2.6.0 before 2.16.1.
INFO
Published Date :
May 11, 2026, 7:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
May 21, 2026, 1:59 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db |
Solution
- Validate and sanitize all input fields.
- Ensure carriage return characters are neutralized.
- Implement proper encoding for output.
- Update to a patched version of the library.
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-2026-43968.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-43968.html | Vendor Advisory |
| https://github.com/ninenines/cowlib/commit/6165fc40efa159ba1cceee7e7981e790acba5d9c | Patch |
| https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-43968 | Third Party 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-2026-43968 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-2026-43968
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).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-43968 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-43968 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]
May. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:ninenines:cowlib:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.6.0 up to (excluding) 2.16.1 Added Reference Type EEF: https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-43968.html Types: Vendor Advisory Added Reference Type EEF: https://github.com/ninenines/cowlib/commit/6165fc40efa159ba1cceee7e7981e790acba5d9c Types: Patch Added Reference Type EEF: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-43968 Types: Third Party Advisory -
CVE Modified by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
May. 12, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed Description Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows SSE event splitting and injection via unvalidated field values. cow_sse:event/1 in cowlib guards the id and event fields against \n but not against bare \r, and the internal prefix_lines/2 function used for data and comment fields splits only on \n. Because the SSE specification requires decoders to treat \r\n, \r, and \n as equivalent line terminators, an attacker who controls any of these fields can inject additional SSE lines and forge a complete event with an arbitrary event type and data payload on the receiving end. In typical deployments where browser EventSource clients or other SSE consumers dispatch on event.type and render event.data, this enables event splitting, client-side logic manipulation, and stored-XSS-equivalent behaviour when event data is inserted into the DOM. This issue affects cowlib from 2.6.0. Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows SSE event splitting and injection via unvalidated field values. cow_sse:event/1 in cowlib guards the id and event fields against \n but not against bare \r, and the internal prefix_lines/2 function used for data and comment fields splits only on \n. Because the SSE specification requires decoders to treat \r\n, \r, and \n as equivalent line terminators, an attacker who controls any of these fields can inject additional SSE lines and forge a complete event with an arbitrary event type and data payload on the receiving end. In typical deployments where browser EventSource clients or other SSE consumers dispatch on event.type and render event.data, this enables event splitting, client-side logic manipulation, and stored-XSS-equivalent behaviour when event data is inserted into the DOM. This issue affects cowlib from 2.6.0 before 2.16.1. -
New CVE Received by 6b3ad84c-e1a6-4bf7-a703-f496b71e49db
May. 11, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows SSE event splitting and injection via unvalidated field values. cow_sse:event/1 in cowlib guards the id and event fields against \n but not against bare \r, and the internal prefix_lines/2 function used for data and comment fields splits only on \n. Because the SSE specification requires decoders to treat \r\n, \r, and \n as equivalent line terminators, an attacker who controls any of these fields can inject additional SSE lines and forge a complete event with an arbitrary event type and data payload on the receiving end. In typical deployments where browser EventSource clients or other SSE consumers dispatch on event.type and render event.data, this enables event splitting, client-side logic manipulation, and stored-XSS-equivalent behaviour when event data is inserted into the DOM. This issue affects cowlib from 2.6.0. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CWE CWE-93 Added Reference https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-43968.html Added Reference https://github.com/ninenines/cowlib/commit/6165fc40efa159ba1cceee7e7981e790acba5d9c Added Reference https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-43968