cpp-httplib has unlimited number of http header fields, which causes memory leak
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
cpp-httplib is a C++11 single-file header-only cross platform HTTP/HTTPS library. In version 0.21.0, when many http headers fields are passed in, the library does not limit the number of headers, and the memory associated with the headers will not be released when the connection is disconnected. This leads to potential exhaustion of system memory and results in a server crash or unresponsiveness. Version 0.22.0 contains a patch for the issue.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-52887
References
More yhirose Cpp-httplib vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-33163 cpp-httplib: HTTP header value percent-decoding in server-side `parse_header` enables CRLF injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2026-18294 cpp-httplib vulnerable to a denial of service (DOS) using a zip bomb CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.7
- TI-2026-17313 cpp-httplib has CRLF injection in http headers CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.7
- TI-2026-33146 cpp-httplib DoS: Negative chunk-size in chunked Transfer-Encoding CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2026-22709 Uncontrolled resource consumption in yhirose cpp-httplib CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-33556 cpp-httplib Unbounded Memory Allocation in Chunked/No-Length Requests Vulnerability CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2025-52887 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-52887 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2025-52887 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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