CVE-2021-32715: Hyper Lenient Parsing Of Content-Length Header Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-f3pg-qwvg-p99c
CVSS 3.1
CWE-444
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-32715 is a LOW (CVSS 3.1) lenient parsing of content-length header vulnerability (CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')) affecting Hyper libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves lenient parsing of content-length header when prefixed with plus sign. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.14.10.

CVE-2021-32715 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-32715
GHSA Identifier GHSA-f3pg-qwvg-p99c
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 3.1
CWE Classification CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')
Affected Product Hyper
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 3.1

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:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-32715

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.

hyper fixed: 0.14.10
Upgrade hyper to 0.14.10
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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-2021-32715, 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 0.14.10), 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

### Summary hyper's HTTP/1 server code had a flaw that incorrectly parses and accepts requests with a `Content-Length` header with a prefixed plus sign, when it should have been rejected as illegal. This combined with an upstream HTTP proxy that doesn't parse such `Content-Length` headers, but forwards them, can result in "request smuggling" or "desync attacks". ### Vulnerability The flaw exists in all prior versions of hyper, if built with [`rustc` v1.5.0 or newer](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/28826/commits/123a83326fb95366e94a3be1a74775df4db97739). Example: ``` GET / HTTP/1.1 Host: example.com Content-Length: +3 abc ``` This request gets accepted and hyper reads the body as abc. The request _should_ be rejected, according to RFC 7230, since the ABNF for `Content-Length` only allows for `DIGIT`s. This is due to using the `FromStr` implementation for `u64` in the standard library. 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". In this particular case, an upstream proxy would need to error when parsing the `Content-Length`, but _not_ reject the request (swallowing its own error), and forwarding the request as-is with the `Content-Length` still included. _Then_ the upstream proxy and hyper would disagree on the length of the request body. The combination of these factors would be extremely rare. Read more about desync attacks: https://portswigger.net/research/http-desync-attacks-request-smuggling-reborn ### Impact To determine if vulnerable, all these things must be true: - **Using hyper as an HTTP server**. While the lenient decoder also exists in the client, a vulnerability does not exist around _responses_. - **Using HTTP/1**. The HTTP/2 code uses a stricter parser. - **Using a vulnerable HTTP proxy upstream to hyper**. If an upstream proxy correctly rejects the illegal `Content-Length` header, *OR* can parse the length with the plus sign, the desync attack cannot succeed. ### Patches We have released the following patch versions: - v0.14.10 (to be released when this advisor is published) ### Workarounds Besides upgrading hyper, you can take the following options: - Reject requests manually that contain a plus sign prefix in the `Content-Length` header. - Ensure any upstream proxy handles `Content-Length` headers with a plus sign prefix. ### Credits This issue was initially reported by [Mattias Grenfeldt](https://grenfeldt.dev/) and Asta Olofsson.

CVE-2021-32715 Affected Hyper Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.14.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
hyper
crates.io
< 0.14.10
0.14.10

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-32715?
CVE-2021-32715 is a security vulnerability in Hyper involving Lenient Parsing of Content-Length Header When Prefixed with Plus Sign under CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling').
Which Hyper versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.14.10 across affected packages: hyper.
What version fixes CVE-2021-32715?
Upgrading to 0.14.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is hyper affected?
Yes, hyper is affected in releases prior to 0.14.10. Upgrade your dependency to 0.14.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-32715?
CVE-2021-32715 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.1 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-32715?
CVE-2021-32715 is classified under CWE-444: Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling') (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.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2021-32715?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for hyper'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-f3pg-qwvg-p99c",
  "modified" : "2021-09-07T21:49:21Z",
  "published" : "2021-07-12T16:54:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-32715" ],
  "summary" : "Lenient Parsing of Content-Length Header When Prefixed with Plus Sign",
  "details" : "### Summary\n\nhyper's HTTP/1 server code had a flaw that incorrectly parses and accepts requests with a `Content-Length` header with a prefixed plus sign, when it should have been rejected as illegal. This combined with an upstream HTTP proxy that doesn't parse such `Content-Length` headers, but forwards them, can result in \"request smuggling\" or \"desync attacks\".\n\n### Vulnerability\n\nThe flaw exists in all prior versions of hyper, if built with [`rustc` v1.5.0 or newer](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/28826/commits/123a83326fb95366e94a3be1a74775df4db97739).\n\nExample:\n\n```\nGET / HTTP/1.1\nHost: example.com\nContent-Length: +3\n\nabc\n```\n\nThis request gets accepted and hyper reads the body as abc. The request _should_ be rejected, according to RFC 7230, since the ABNF for `Content-Length` only allows for `DIGIT`s. This is due to using the `FromStr` implementation for `u64` in the standard library. 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\nIn this particular case, an upstream proxy would need to error when parsing the `Content-Length`, but _not_ reject the request (swallowing its own error), and forwarding the request as-is with the `Content-Length` still included. _Then_ the upstream proxy and hyper would disagree on the length of the request body. The combination of these factors would be extremely rare.\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**. While the lenient decoder also exists in the client, a vulnerability does not exist around _responses_.\n- **Using HTTP/1**. The HTTP/2 code uses a stricter parser.\n- **Using a vulnerable HTTP proxy upstream to hyper**. If an upstream proxy correctly rejects the illegal `Content-Length` header, *OR* can parse the length with the plus sign, the desync attack cannot succeed.\n\n### Patches\n\nWe have released the following patch versions:\n\n- v0.14.10 (to be released when this advisor is published)\n\n### Workarounds\n\nBesides upgrading hyper, you can take the following options:\n\n- Reject requests manually that contain a plus sign prefix in the `Content-Length` header.\n- Ensure any upstream proxy handles `Content-Length` headers with a plus sign prefix.\n\n### Credits\nThis issue was initially reported by [Mattias Grenfeldt](https://grenfeldt.dev/) and Asta Olofsson.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "hyper"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.14.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/security/advisories/GHSA-f3pg-qwvg-p99c"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-32715"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/28826/commits/123a83326fb95366e94a3be1a74775df4db97739"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper/commit/1fb719e0b61a4f3d911562a436a2ff05fd7cb759"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/hyperium/hyper"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2021-0078.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-444" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-07-07T20:08:46Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-07-07T20:15:00Z"
  }
}