Vulnerabilities in pkg:pypi/urllib3
PACKAGECVE-2026-97688 is a MODERATE chunked deflate streaming can enter vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting urllib3 libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves chunked deflate streaming can enter an infinite loop. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.8.0.
pkg:pypi/urllib3
Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:pypi/urllib3. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.
| Advisory ID | CVE / NVD | Severity | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g | CVE-2026-97688 | MODERATE | urllib3: Chunked Deflate streaming can enter an infinite loop |
| GHSA-vxq7-64xx-v4gw | CVE-2026-97689 | HIGH | urllib3: HTTPResponse.stream()/read_chunked() buffers an unbounded chunk-size line into memory |
| GHSA-8988-9cw3-xx77 | CVE-2026-97687 | HIGH | urllib3: HTTPS proxy TLS configuration may be ignored or overridden |
| GHSA-2xpw-w6gg-jr37 | CVE-2025-66471 | HIGH | urllib3 streaming API improperly handles highly compressed data |
| GHSA-q2q7-5pp4-w6pg | CVE-2021-33503 | HIGH | Catastrophic backtracking in URL authority parser when passed URL containing many @ characters |
| GHSA-mf9v-mfxr-j63j | CVE-2026-44432 | HIGH | urllib3: Decompression-bomb safeguards bypassed in parts of the streaming API |
| GHSA-qccp-gfcp-xxvc | CVE-2026-44431 | HIGH | urllib3: Sensitive headers forwarded across origins in proxied low-level redirects |
| GHSA-38jv-5279-wg99 | CVE-2026-21441 | HIGH | Decompression-bomb safeguards bypassed when following HTTP redirects (streaming API) |
| GHSA-pq67-6m6q-mj2v | CVE-2025-50181 | MODERATE | urllib3 redirects are not disabled when retries are disabled on PoolManager instantiation |
| GHSA-48p4-8xcf-vxj5 | CVE-2025-50182 | MODERATE | urllib3 does not control redirects in browsers and Node.js |
| GHSA-gm62-xv2j-4w53 | CVE-2025-66418 | HIGH | urllib3 allows an unbounded number of links in the decompression chain |
| GHSA-34jh-p97f-mpxf | CVE-2024-37891 | MODERATE | urllib3's Proxy-Authorization request header isn't stripped during cross-origin redirects |
| GHSA-g4mx-q9vg-27p4 | CVE-2023-45803 | MODERATE | urllib3's request body not stripped after redirect from 303 status changes request method to GET |
| GHSA-v845-jxx5-vc9f | CVE-2023-43804 | HIGH | `Cookie` HTTP header isn't stripped on cross-origin redirects |
| GHSA-www2-v7xj-xrc6 | CVE-2018-20060 | CRITICAL | Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in urllib3 |
| GHSA-gwvm-45gx-3cf8 | CVE-2018-25091 | MODERATE | Authorization Header forwarded on redirect |
| GHSA-v4w5-p2hg-8fh6 | CVE-2016-9015 | MODERATE | Urllib3 Incorrect Certificate Validation |
| GHSA-r64q-w8jr-g9qp | CVE-2019-11236 | MODERATE | Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences in urllib3 library for Python |
| GHSA-5phf-pp7p-vc2r | CVE-2021-28363 | MODERATE | Using default SSLContext for HTTPS requests in an HTTPS proxy doesn't verify certificate hostname for proxy connection |
| GHSA-wqvq-5m8c-6g24 | CVE-2020-26137 | MODERATE | CRLF injection in urllib3 |
| GHSA-hmv2-79q8-fv6g | CVE-2020-7212 | HIGH | Uncontrolled Resource Consumption in urllib3 |
| GHSA-mh33-7rrq-662w | CVE-2019-11324 | HIGH | Improper Certificate Validation in urllib3 |
CVE-2026-97688 at a Glance
How to Fix CVE-2026-97688
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected urllib3 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
pip install urllib3>=2.8.0
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
pip show urllib3
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2026-97688, inspect your installed packages using pip:
pip show urllib3
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of urllib3 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.8.0), your application is affected.
Note: The pip show urllib3 command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In urllib3, 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-2026-97688 Affected urllib3 Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
urllib3
|
PyPI |
≥ 2.6.2
< 2.8.0
|
2.8.0
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-97688?
Which urllib3 versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-97688?
Is urllib3 affected?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-97688?
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2026-97688?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g",
"modified" : "2026-09-30T15:00:38Z",
"published" : "2026-09-30T15:00:38Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-97688" ],
"summary" : "urllib3: Chunked Deflate streaming can enter an infinite loop",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nurllib3's streaming API is designed for the efficient handling of large HTTP responses by reading content in chunks instead of loading the entire response body into memory at once.\n\nurllib3 can decompress response bodies according to the HTTP `Content-Encoding` header. When streaming a compressed, chunked response, urllib3 first consumes data already buffered by the decoder before reading the next HTTP chunk.\n\nHowever, urllib3 versions from 2.6.2 through 2.7.0 could enter an infinite loop when a chunked response contained bytes after the end of the Deflate stream. If the decompressed body exceeded the requested streaming chunk size, Python's zlib implementation could retain the trailing bytes as unconsumed input after reaching the end of the compressed stream. urllib3 would repeatedly attempt to decode those same bytes without making progress or reading more data from the network.\n\nA malicious server could exploit this behavior to cause excessive CPU usage and prevent the affected request from completing on the client. Network read timeouts would not interrupt the loop because no further socket operation was required.\n\n### Affected usages\n\nApplications and libraries using urllib3 versions 2.6.2 through 2.7.0 may be affected when all of the following conditions are met:\n\n1. Compressed responses from an untrusted source are streamed using `HTTPResponse.stream(amt=N)` or `HTTPResponse.read_chunked(amt=N)` with a positive, finite chunk size.\n2. Content decoding is enabled.\n3. The response uses both `Transfer-Encoding: chunked` and `Content-Encoding: deflate`.\n4. The decoded body exceeds the requested chunk size and the encoded body contains bytes after the end of the Deflate stream.\n\n`HTTPResponse.stream()` uses a finite chunk size by default and is therefore affected when the other conditions are met.\n\n### Remediation\n\nUpgrade to urllib3 2.8.0, in which the Deflate decoder stops accepting input after reaching the end of the compressed stream and no longer reports trailing bytes as data that can produce more decoded output.\n\nIf upgrading is not immediately possible, disable automatic content decoding for responses from untrusted sources by setting `decode_content=False`, or reject streamed responses using the Deflate content encoding. Applications that disable automatic decoding must handle the compressed response safely at another layer.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V4",
"score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "PyPI",
"name" : "urllib3"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "2.6.2"
}, {
"fixed" : "2.8.0"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/security/advisories/GHSA-gh4c-6fx4-qh6g"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97688"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/commit/ea2ad7b21a80da3632f80016526a18864586077f"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/releases/tag/2.8.0"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-835" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-09-30T15:00:38Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-29T16:17:18Z"
}
}