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libcurl cross-origin Digest auth state leak

IdentifiersCVE-2026-11856CWE-294

CVE-2026-11856 is a medium-severity vulnerability in libcurl’s HTTP Digest authentication handling. When an application successfully performs a transfer to one HTTP origin using Digest authentication and then reuses the same libcurl easy handle for a subsequent transfer to a different origin, libcurl can incorrectly carry forward and send the Authorization header state intended for the first origin to the second origin. The flaw affects libcurl versions 7.10.6 through 8.20.0 inclusive and does not affect the curl command-line tool. The issue is classified as CWE-294 because the leaked Digest authentication state can be captured by the second host and replayed against the original host for a narrowly scoped request.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

A malicious second origin can receive Digest Authorization material intended for the first origin and use it to impersonate the client to the original host for one specific request and exact path represented by the leaked authenticated state. The vulnerability does not disclose the user’s underlying credentials directly, and the leaked header does not reveal the identity of the original host, but it can still enable a limited authentication bypass via capture-replay against the first host.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Avoid reusing the same libcurl handle when changing HTTP origins, especially after a Digest-authenticated transfer. Use separate handles per origin or fully reset authentication-related state before initiating a transfer to a different host. Prioritize this mitigation in applications that embed libcurl and perform multi-origin requests with Digest authentication.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade curl/libcurl to version 8.21.0 or later, where the issue is fixed. If upgrading is not immediately possible, apply the upstream patch associated with the fix and rebuild affected software that embeds libcurl. The advisory indicates the issue was fixed in curl 8.21.0.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

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Threat actor evidence

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Associated malware

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Detection signatures

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Vendor-by-vendor mapping

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Social activity1

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