Caddy Defender trusted proxy client IP bypass
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · Low · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-284.
Summary
The Caddy Defender plugin is a middleware for Caddy that allows users to block or manipulate requests based on the client's IP address. Prior to version 0.10.1, Caddy Defender used `r.RemoteAddr` when evaluating whether a request should be blocked. `RemoteAddr` is the address of the immediate peer connected to Caddy. In deployments where Caddy is behind a trusted proxy, CDN, or load balancer, the immediate peer is usually the proxy, not the original client. Caddy resolves the original client address into its `client_ip` request variable after applying the configured `trusted_proxies` policy, but Defender did not use that value. As a result, clients from blocked IP ranges could bypass Defender when accessing Caddy through a trusted proxy whose own IP address was not blocked. This affects deployments that use Defender behind trusted proxies and expect it to enforce blocking based on the real client IP. The issue is fixed in version 0.10.1 by making Defender prefer Caddys resolved `client_ip` request variable when it is available. Defender falls back to `RemoteAddr` only when Caddy has not provided a resolved client IP. There is no complete workaround in affected Defender versions for deployments that rely on Caddy's trusted proxy client IP resolution. Until upgrading, affected users should enforce equivalent IP blocking at the trusted proxy, CDN, load balancer, firewall, or other edge layer before traffic reaches Caddy. Deployments where Caddy receives traffic directly from clients, without an intermediate trusted proxy, are not affected by this bypass.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- 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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JasonLovesDoggo | caddy-defender | before 0.10.1 | 0.10.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | pkg.jsn.cam/caddy-defender (Go) | before 0.10.1 | 0.10.1 | Patch available | GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87 |
- caddy-defender VendorJasonLovesDoggo Affected before 0.10.1 Fixed in 0.10.1 Patch available CNA
- pkg.jsn.cam/caddy-defender (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.10.1 Fixed in 0.10.1 Patch available GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87
Remediation
- Fix · CNA caddy-defender (JasonLovesDoggo) Fixed in 0.10.1
- Fix · GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87 pkg.jsn.cam/caddy-defender (Go) Fixed in 0.10.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46415
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87
References
Other 5
- https://github.com/JasonLovesDoggo/caddy-defender/security/advisories/GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87
- https://github.com/JasonLovesDoggo/caddy-defender/pull/139
- https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/matchers#client-ip
- https://caddyserver.com/docs/caddyfile/options#trusted-proxies
- https://github.com/JasonLovesDoggo/caddy-defender
More JasonLovesDoggo vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-20256 Goroutine Leak in Abacus SSE Implementation CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-46415 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-46415 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-3h23-rrpc-3p87 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences