CVE-2023-45803

Request body not stripped after redirect in urllib3

MEDIUM
4.2
CVSS Score
Published: October 17, 2023 at 07:43 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 06:29 AM UTC
3 products affected across 3 vendorsFedoraURLLIB3URLLIB3

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Severity
MEDIUM4.2
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.6%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

urllib3 is a user-friendly HTTP client library for Python. urllib3 previously wouldn't remove the HTTP request body when an HTTP redirect response using status 301, 302, or 303 after the request had its method changed from one that could accept a request body (like `POST`) to `GET` as is required by HTTP RFCs. Although this behavior is not specified in the section for redirects, it can be inferred by piecing together information from different sections and we have observed the behavior in other major HTTP client implementations like curl and web browsers. Because the vulnerability requires a previously trusted service to become compromised in order to have an impact on confidentiality we believe the exploitability of this vulnerability is low. Additionally, many users aren't putting sensitive data in HTTP request bodies, if this is the case then this vulnerability isn't exploitable. Both of the following conditions must be true to be affected by this vulnerability: 1. Using urllib3 and submitting sensitive information in the HTTP request body (such as form data or JSON) and 2. The origin service is compromised and starts redirecting using 301, 302, or 303 to a malicious peer or the redirected-to service becomes compromised. This issue has been addressed in versions 1.26.18 and 2.0.7 and users are advised to update to resolve this issue. Users unable to update should disable redirects for services that aren't expecting to respond with redirects with `redirects=False` and disable automatic redirects with `redirects=False` and handle 301, 302, and 303 redirects manually by stripping the HTTP request body.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 1.26.182.0.0 ≤ v < 2.0.7
Affected range stops below 1.26.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.0.7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 1.26.18v < 2.0.7
Affected range stops below 1.26.18, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Affected range stops below 2.0.7, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

4.2MEDIUMGitHub_M
Attack Vector
ADJACENT_NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
HIGH
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
NONE
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-200NVD-CWE-noinfo

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