CVE-2021-21299: Hyper HTTP Request Smuggling Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2021-21299 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.8) http request smuggling vulnerability (CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')) affecting Hyper libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves http request smuggling in hyper. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.14.3, 0.13.10, 0.12.36.
CVE-2021-21299 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 4.8
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2021-21299
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Hyper dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade hyper to 0.14.3
Upgrade hyper to 0.13.10
Upgrade hyper to 0.12.36
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for hyper
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2021-21299, inspect your project dependencies for Hyper:
inspect dependencies for hyper
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Hyper in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.14.3), your application is affected.
Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling'), where the product acts as an intermediary http agent (such as a proxy or firewall) in the data flow between two entities such as a client and server, but it does not interpret malformed http requests or responses in ways that are consistent with how the messages will be processed by those entities that are at the ultimate destination. In Hyper, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.
Source Advisory Statement
CVE-2021-21299 Affected Hyper Versions
3 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
hyper
|
crates.io |
≥ 0.14.0
< 0.14.3
|
0.14.3
|
|
hyper
|
crates.io |
≥ 0.13.0
< 0.13.10
|
0.13.10
|
|
hyper
|
crates.io |
≥ 0.12.0
< 0.12.36
|
0.12.36
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-21299?
Which Hyper versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-21299?
Is hyper affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-21299?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-21299?
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-21299?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-6hfq-h8hq-87mf",
"modified" : "2021-08-18T21:07:17Z",
"published" : "2021-08-25T20:56:18Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-21299" ],
"summary" : "HTTP Request Smuggling in hyper",
"details" : "### Summary\n\nhyper's HTTP server code had a flaw that incorrectly understands some requests with multiple transfer-encoding headers to have a chunked payload, when it should have been rejected as illegal. This combined with an upstream HTTP proxy that understands the request payload boundary differently can result in \"request smuggling\" or \"desync attacks\".\n\n### Vulnerability\n\nThe flaw was introduced in https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/commit/26417fc24a7d05df538e0f39239b373c5c3d61f6, released in v0.12.0.\n\nConsider this example request:\n\n```\nPOST /yolo HTTP/1.1\nTransfer-Encoding: chunked\nTransfer-Encoding: cow\n```\n\nThis request *should* be rejected, according to RFC 7230, since it has a `Transfer-Encoding` header, but after folding, it does not end in `chunked`. hyper would notice the `chunked` in the first line, and then check the second line, and thanks to a missing boolean assignment, *not* set the error condition. hyper would treat the payload as being `chunked`. By differing from the spec, it is possible to send requests like these to endpoints that have different HTTP implementations, with different interpretations of the payload semantics, and cause \"desync attacks\".\n\nThere are several parts of the spec that must also be checked, and hyper correctly handles all of those. Additionally, hyper's *client* does not allow sending requests with improper headers, so the misunderstanding cannot be propagated further.\n\nRead more about desync attacks: https://portswigger.net/research/http-desync-attacks-request-smuggling-reborn\n\n### Impact\n\nTo determine if vulnerable, all these things must be true:\n\n- **Using hyper as an HTTP *server*.** The client is not affected.\n- **Using HTTP/1.1.** HTTP/2 does not use `transfer-encoding`.\n- **Using a vulnerable HTTP proxy upstream to hyper.** If an upstream proxy correctly rejects the illegal transfer-encoding headers, the desync attack cannot succeed. If there is *no* proxy upstream of hyper, hyper cannot *start* the desync attack, as the client will repair the headers before forwarding.\n\n### Patches\n\nWe have released and backported the following patch versions:\n\n- v0.14.3\n- v0.13.10\n\n### Workarounds\n\nBesides upgrading hyper, you can take the following options:\n\n- Reject requests that contain a `transfer-encoding` header.\n- Ensure any upstream proxy handles `transfer-encoding` correctly.\n\n### Credits\n\nThis issue was initially reported by ZeddYu Lu From Qi An Xin Technology Research Institute.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "crates.io",
"name" : "hyper"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0.14.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.14.3"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "crates.io",
"name" : "hyper"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0.13.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.13.10"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "crates.io",
"name" : "hyper"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0.12.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.12.36"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/security/advisories/GHSA-6hfq-h8hq-87mf"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21299"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/commit/8f93123efef5c1361086688fe4f34c83c89cec02"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://portswigger.net/research/http-desync-attacks-request-smuggling-reborn"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0020.html"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-444" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2021-08-18T21:07:17Z",
"nvd_published_at" : null
}
}