Envoy: Cross-user response poisoning via a generic (non-WebSocket) HTTP upgrade on Envoy's shared backend pool
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Envoy is an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. Prior to 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, and 1.39.1, Envoy forwards data for a configured non-WebSocket HTTP upgrade before the upstream accepts the upgrade. An unauthenticated HTTP/2 client can place a complete HTTP/1.1 request in extended CONNECT data; Envoy downgrades the request, writes the data unframed to a keep-alive HTTP/1.1 upstream, and returns the socket to the shared pool while the smuggled response remains queued. A different downstream client can then receive the attacker's response. The relevant scope boundary is that webSocket upgrades, plain CONNECT, disabled backend keep-alive, per-downstream pools, and max_requests_per_connection set to 1 are not affected by the demonstrated path. This issue is fixed in versions 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, and 1.39.1.
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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| envoyproxy | envoy | before 1.36.10; 1.37.0 to before 1.37.6; 1.38.0 to before 1.38.4; 1.39.0 to before 1.39.1 | 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, 1.39.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- envoy Vendorenvoyproxy Affected before 1.36.10; 1.37.0 to before 1.37.6; 1.38.0 to before 1.38.4; 1.39.0 to before 1.39.1 Fixed in 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, 1.39.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:envoyproxy:envoy:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 1.36.10; 1.37.0 to before 1.37.6; 1.38.0 to before 1.38.4; 1.39.0 to before 1.39.1 | Vulnerable | envoyproxy |
- cpe:2.3:a:envoyproxy:envoy:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 1.36.10; 1.37.0 to before 1.37.6; 1.38.0 to before 1.38.4; 1.39.0 to before 1.39.1 Vulnerable ·envoyproxy
Remediation
- Fix · CNA envoy (envoyproxy) Fixed in 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, 1.39.1
Red Hat 5 advisories
- RHSA-2026:65121 Released 2026-09-08 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.4.2
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.4 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-cni-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-pilot-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-proxyv2-rhel9 +1
- RHSA-2026:65115 Released 2026-09-08 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3.7
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-cni-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-pilot-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-proxyv2-rhel9 +1
- RHSA-2026:65113 Released 2026-09-08 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2.9
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-cni-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-pilot-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-proxyv2-rhel9 +1
Show 2 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:65112 Released 2026-09-08 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1.12
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-cni-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-pilot-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-proxyv2-rhel9 +1
- RHSA-2026:65106 Released 2026-09-08 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0.15
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0 registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-cni-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-pilot-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/openshift-service-mesh/istio-proxyv2-rhel9 +1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65106 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65112 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65113 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65115 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:65121 |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.0
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.1
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.2
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.3
- Red Hat OpenShift Service Mesh 3.4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-73548
References
Patch 4
- https://github.com/envoyproxy/envoy/commit/309855626966cff176155c821043ed3b44671361
- https://github.com/envoyproxy/envoy/commit/3c7998545a9c9fb3933a4bc1907d92f0e752bc2b
- https://github.com/envoyproxy/envoy/commit/4633b8cce3d15b8734eefe232e30c12b0140b91c
- https://github.com/envoyproxy/envoy/commit/bd6711f2617658e28dfa3df3dace6bfe3cfc0766
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- TI-2023-12215 Envoy client may fake the header `x-envoy-original-path` CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
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Sources
- CVE-2026-73548 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-73548 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-73548 · 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