0.0
NA
CVE-2026-86146
Apache bRPC: HTTP Request Smuggling and Header Injection via Lenient HTTP/1.1 Header Parsing
Description

Inconsistent interpretation of HTTP requests (HTTP request/response smuggling) in the bundled HTTP/1.1 parser of Apache bRPC (version < 1.18.0) on all platforms allows remote attackers to smuggle requests and inject headers when bRPC is deployed behind a proxy or load balancer that parses the same bytes differently. Root Cause: The bRPC fork of http-parser accepts and acts on several HTTP/1.1 header forms that a conforming front-end either rejects or interprets differently, so the framing or the header set of a message can differ between the front-end and bRPC: 1. A space before the colon of framing headers (e.g. Content-Length : 5) is accepted; the value still drives bRPC's framing while the reported field name contains the trailing space. 2. Interior spaces inside a Content-Length value (e.g. Content-Length: 1 3) are skipped, so bRPC reads 13 where a front-end reads 1 or rejects the message (same class as CVE-2022-32213 in Node.js). 3. Obsolete line folding (obs-fold, RFC 7230 3.2.4) of Content-Length and Transfer-Encoding values is accepted, so a folded framing value drives bRPC's framing while a front-end that does not unfold sees a different message. 4. Chunked trailer fields are fed to the same header callbacks as the header section and are merged into the header map like real headers. A front-end only inspects the header section, so any chunked request can smuggle fields such as Authorization or X-Forwarded-For past it. 5. Transfer-Encoding lists with optional whitespace after a comma (e.g. Transfer-Encoding: gzip, chunked) are not recognized as chunked: such requests are rejected, and responses are read until connection close instead of as chunked, causing response desync. Affected Scenarios: bRPC server or client communicating over HTTP/1.1 with a front proxy, load balancer, or any peer that parses the message independently. An attacker able to send requests through the front-end can desynchronize the two parsers to smuggle requests, forge headers (e.g. Authorization, X-Forwarded-For) via chunked trailers, or desynchronize responses. How to Fix: (Choose one of the following options) 1. Upgrade bRPC to version 1.18.0, which fixes this issue. 2. Apply this patch: https://github.com/apache/brpc/pull/3521 Note: After applying the fix, the four header forms above are rejected by default and chunked trailers are dropped instead of merged into the header map. Two gflags are provided for compatibility: http_allow_obs_fold=true restores acceptance of folded Content-Length/Transfer-Encoding values, and http_strict_header_token=true additionally rejects spaces inside any header field name (not only the ones that decide framing). Legitimate clients that do not use these obsolete forms are unaffected.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 21, 2026, 1:20 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 21, 2026, 1:20 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

No
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-86146 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Apache brpc
Solution
Update bRPC to version 1.18.0 or later to fix HTTP parsing vulnerabilities.
  • Upgrade bRPC to version 1.18.0 or higher.
  • Apply the provided patch if upgrading is not possible.
  • Configure compatibility flags if needed after patching.
  • Test the application for correct behavior.
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-2026-86146.

URL Resource
https://lists.apache.org/thread/2pf15ojj0vr7rtx95677kgtl1mx3gdgb
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-86146 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-2026-86146 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-2026-86146 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-86146 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.

  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Oct. 21, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description Inconsistent interpretation of HTTP requests (HTTP request/response smuggling) in the bundled HTTP/1.1 parser of Apache bRPC (version < 1.18.0) on all platforms allows remote attackers to smuggle requests and inject headers when bRPC is deployed behind a proxy or load balancer that parses the same bytes differently. Root Cause: The bRPC fork of http-parser accepts and acts on several HTTP/1.1 header forms that a conforming front-end either rejects or interprets differently, so the framing or the header set of a message can differ between the front-end and bRPC: 1. A space before the colon of framing headers (e.g. Content-Length : 5) is accepted; the value still drives bRPC's framing while the reported field name contains the trailing space. 2. Interior spaces inside a Content-Length value (e.g. Content-Length: 1 3) are skipped, so bRPC reads 13 where a front-end reads 1 or rejects the message (same class as CVE-2022-32213 in Node.js). 3. Obsolete line folding (obs-fold, RFC 7230 3.2.4) of Content-Length and Transfer-Encoding values is accepted, so a folded framing value drives bRPC's framing while a front-end that does not unfold sees a different message. 4. Chunked trailer fields are fed to the same header callbacks as the header section and are merged into the header map like real headers. A front-end only inspects the header section, so any chunked request can smuggle fields such as Authorization or X-Forwarded-For past it. 5. Transfer-Encoding lists with optional whitespace after a comma (e.g. Transfer-Encoding: gzip, chunked) are not recognized as chunked: such requests are rejected, and responses are read until connection close instead of as chunked, causing response desync. Affected Scenarios: bRPC server or client communicating over HTTP/1.1 with a front proxy, load balancer, or any peer that parses the message independently. An attacker able to send requests through the front-end can desynchronize the two parsers to smuggle requests, forge headers (e.g. Authorization, X-Forwarded-For) via chunked trailers, or desynchronize responses. How to Fix: (Choose one of the following options) 1. Upgrade bRPC to version 1.18.0, which fixes this issue. 2. Apply this patch: https://github.com/apache/brpc/pull/3521 Note: After applying the fix, the four header forms above are rejected by default and chunked trailers are dropped instead of merged into the header map. Two gflags are provided for compatibility: http_allow_obs_fold=true restores acceptance of folded Content-Length/Transfer-Encoding values, and http_strict_header_token=true additionally rejects spaces inside any header field name (not only the ones that decide framing). Legitimate clients that do not use these obsolete forms are unaffected.
    Added CWE CWE-444
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/86xxx/CVE-2026-86146.json">CVE-2026-86146</a>
    Added Reference https://lists.apache.org/thread/2pf15ojj0vr7rtx95677kgtl1mx3gdgb
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.