go-chi chi before 5.3.0 IP Spoofing via RealIP Middleware
Priority HIGH 70CWE-290Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 21 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-290.
Summary
go-chi/chi through 5.2.1 contains an IP spoofing vulnerability in the RealIP middleware (middleware/realip.go). The realIP() function reads client-controlled headers (True-Client-IP, X-Real-IP, and X-Forwarded-For) and overwrites r.RemoteAddr without verifying that the request originated from a trusted proxy. Attackers can supply arbitrary IP addresses in these headers to bypass IP-based access controls, evade rate limiting and geo-IP restrictions, and pollute audit logs. Fixed in 5.3.0.
Why it matters now
Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.003 22nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial chi (go-chi): 5.3.0Red Hat: 3 advisoriesRed Hat: 1 fixed, 21 without a fix
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
- Fix · CNA chi (go-chi) Fixed in 5.3.0
Red Hat 3 advisories
- RHSA-2026:54420 Released 2026-08-12 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images cosign-3.1.3-0.1.hum1@aarch64, cosign-3.1.3-0.1.hum1@src, cosign-3.1.3-0.1.hum1@x86_64
- RHSA-2026:49732 Released 2026-08-03 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images spire1.15-1.15.2-0.4.hum1@aarch64, spire1.15-1.15.2-0.4.hum1@src, spire1.15-1.15.2-0.4.hum1@x86_64 +6
- RHSA-2026:49718 Released 2026-08-03 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images spire1.14-1.14.7-0.4.hum1@aarch64, spire1.14-1.14.7-0.4.hum1@src, spire1.14-1.14.7-0.4.hum1@x86_64 +6
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
go-chi chi 5.3.0
3 records Highest priority Priority HIGH 2 HIGH, 1 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-51041 go-chi chi v5.2.1 IP Spoofing via X-Forwarded-For HeaderPriority HIGH 70
- TI-2026-51043 go-chi chi 0.9.0 before 5.3.0 IP Spoofing via X-Forwarded-ForPriority LOW 36
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cryostat 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| External Secrets Operator for Red Hat OpenShift | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Gatekeeper 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Migration Toolkit for Applications 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Multicluster Engine for Kubernetes | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| OpenShift Pipelines | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| OpenShift Serverless | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Edge Manager 1 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift distributed tracing 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Quay 3 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Satellite 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Web Terminal | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Security Profiles Operator | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Zero Trust Workload Identity Manager - Tech Preview | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:49718, RHSA-2026:49732, RHSA-2026:54420 |
Not affected: 5 products
- OpenShift Pipelines
- Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4
- Red Hat Hardened Images
- Red Hat Trusted Artifact Signer
- Zero Trust Workload Identity Manager
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72816
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xg24-pmhh-m4m9
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More go-chi vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-51041 go-chi chi v5.2.1 IP Spoofing via X-Forwarded-For Header CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
- TI-2026-82170 Authentication bypass in go-chi chi SupressNotFound middleware CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-78796 Client IP spoofing in Go chi ClientIPFromXFF middleware CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.3
- TI-2026-85173 Open redirect in go-chi chi RedirectSlashes middleware CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.1
- TI-2025-43521 go-chi chi before v5.2.2 Open Redirect via RedirectSlashes CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.1
- TI-2026-51043 go-chi chi 0.9.0 before 5.3.0 IP Spoofing via X-Forwarded-For CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
Sources
- CVE-2026-72816 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72816 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xg24-pmhh-m4m9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-72816 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences