urllib3: Chunked Deflate streaming can enter an infinite loop
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
urllib3 is an HTTP client library for Python. From 2.6.2 until 2.8.0, HTTPResponse.stream and HTTPResponse.read_chunked can enter an infinite loop because the Deflate decoder retains trailing bytes as unconsumed input after reaching end-of-stream and repeatedly decodes them without progress. The issue occurs when an untrusted server sends a chunked Deflate response whose decoded body exceeds a positive finite chunk size and whose encoded body has trailing bytes, specifically a response with Transfer-Encoding: chunked and Content-Encoding: deflate, content decoding enabled, and the positive finite amt=N streaming chunk size. The attack mechanism is that a malicious server returns a compressed chunked response with trailing bytes after the Deflate stream. The impact is excessive CPU usage and a request that does not complete, and network read timeouts do not interrupt the loop because no further socket read occurs. This issue is fixed in version 2.8.0.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| python-pillow | urllib3 | 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 | 2.8.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | urllib3 (PyPI) | 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 | 2.8.0 | Patch available | GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g |
- urllib3 Vendorpython-pillow Affected 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 Fixed in 2.8.0 Patch available CNA
- urllib3 (PyPI) Vendor— Affected 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 Fixed in 2.8.0 Patch available GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:python:urllib3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 | Vulnerable | python-pillow |
- cpe:2.3:a:python:urllib3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.2 to before 2.8.0 Vulnerable ·python-pillow
Remediation
- Fix · CNA urllib3 (urllib3) Fixed in 2.8.0
- Fix · GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g urllib3 (PyPI) Fixed in 2.8.0 Advisory →
Red Hat 15 advisories
- RHSA-2026:92452 Released 2026-10-29 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5.2 enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-aws-cuda-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-azure-cuda-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-azure-rocm-rhel9 +3
- RHSA-2026:92449 Released 2026-10-29 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5.2 enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/disk-image-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:90440 Released 2026-10-26 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4.6 security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-aws-cuda-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-azure-cuda-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/bootc-azure-rocm-rhel9 +3
Show 12 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:90432 Released 2026-10-26 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4.6 security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhelai3/disk-image-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:83121 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference 3.4.6 (rocm)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-rocm-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:83120 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference 3.4.6 (cuda)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:83116 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference Model Optimization Tools 3.4.6 (cuda)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/model-opt-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:83114 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference 3.4.6 (spyre)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-spyre-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:83112 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat AI Inference 3.4.6 (cpu)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-cpu-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82415 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat AI Inference 3.5.2 (cpu)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-cpu-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82371 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat AI Inference 3.5.2 (spyre)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-spyre-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82368 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat AI Inference 3.5.2 (cuda)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-cuda-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82061 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat AI Inference Tech Preview 3.5.2 (Gaudi)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-gaudi-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82059 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat AI Inference 3.5.2 (ROCm)
- Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 registry.redhat.io/rhaii/vllm-rocm-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:69612 Released 2026-09-21 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images python-urllib3-2.8.0-1.hum1@src, python3-urllib3+brotli-2.8.0-1.hum1@noarch@public-hummingbird-aarch64-rpms, python3-urllib3+brotli-2.8.0-1.hum1@noarch@public-hummingbird-x86_64-rpms +8
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenShift AI (RHOAI) | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83112, RHSA-2026:83114, RHSA-2026:83116, RHSA-2026:83120, RHSA-2026:83121 |
| Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:82059, RHSA-2026:82061, RHSA-2026:82368, RHSA-2026:82371, RHSA-2026:82415 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:90432, RHSA-2026:90440 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:92449, RHSA-2026:92452 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:69612 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Hardened Images
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-97688
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g
- 2026-10-13 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82061 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-13 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82059 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-13 Fix available: Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.5 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-13 CVSS score added · NVD
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82368 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82415 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82371 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83112 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83116 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83114 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83120 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83121 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Red Hat AI Inference Server 3.4 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: RHSA-2026:92452 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: RHSA-2026:92449 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: RHSA-2026:90432 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: RHSA-2026:90440 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.4, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AI 3.5 · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Advisory 2
More python-pillow Urllib3 vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-17326 urllib3 vulnerable to decompression-bomb safeguard bypass when following HTTP redirects (streaming API) CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2018-14221 urllib3 before version 1.23 does not remove the Authorization HTTP header when following… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2025-40854 urllib3 allows an unbounded number of links in the decompression chain CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2026-32373 urllib3: Decompression-bomb safeguards bypassed in parts of the streaming API CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2025-40898 urllib3 Streaming API improperly handles highly compressed data CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.9
- TI-2021-12905 An issue was discovered in urllib3 before 1.26.5. CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-97688 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-97688 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-97688 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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