Scrapy allows redirect following in protocols other than HTTP
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub. Impact type from CWE-552.
Summary
### Impact Scrapy was following redirects regardless of the URL protocol, so redirects were working for `data://`, `file://`, `ftp://`, `s3://`, and any other scheme defined in the `DOWNLOAD_HANDLERS` setting. However, HTTP redirects should only work between URLs that use the `http://` or `https://` schemes. A malicious actor, given write access to the start requests (e.g. ability to define `start_urls`) of a spider and read access to the spider output, could exploit this vulnerability to: - Redirect to any local file using the `file://` scheme to read its contents. - Redirect to an `ftp://` URL of a malicious FTP server to obtain the FTP username and password configured in the spider or project. - Redirect to any `s3://` URL to read its content using the S3 credentials configured in the spider or project. For `file://` and `s3://`, how the spider implements its parsing of input data into an output item determines what data would be vulnerable. A spider that always outputs the entire contents of a response would be completely vulnerable, while a spider that extracted only fragments from the response could significantly limit vulnerable data. ### Patches Upgrade to Scrapy 2.11.2. ### Workarounds Replace the built-in retry middlewares (`RedirectMiddleware` and `MetaRefreshMiddleware`) with custom ones that implement the fix from Scrapy 2.11.2, and verify that they work as intended. ### References This security issue was reported by @mvsantos at https://github.com/scrapy/scrapy/issues/457.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Scrapy (PyPI) | before 2.11.2 | 2.11.2 | Patch available | GHSA-23j4-mw76-5v7h |
- Scrapy (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 2.11.2 Fixed in 2.11.2 Patch available GHSA-23j4-mw76-5v7h
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-23j4-mw76-5v7h Scrapy (PyPI) Fixed in 2.11.2 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-23j4-mw76-5v7h
References
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences