CVE-2024-9681

HSTS subdomain overwrites parent cache entry

MEDIUM
6.5
CVSS Score
Published: November 6, 2024 at 07:47 AM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 08:25 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorCurl

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Severity
MEDIUM6.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

When curl is asked to use HSTS, the expiry time for a subdomain might overwrite a parent domain's cache entry, making it end sooner or later than otherwise intended. This affects curl using applications that enable HSTS and use URLs with the insecure `HTTP://` scheme and perform transfers with hosts like `x.example.com` as well as `example.com` where the first host is a subdomain of the second host. (The HSTS cache either needs to have been populated manually or there needs to have been previous HTTPS accesses done as the cache needs to have entries for the domains involved to trigger this problem.) When `x.example.com` responds with `Strict-Transport-Security:` headers, this bug can make the subdomain's expiry timeout *bleed over* and get set for the parent domain `example.com` in curl's HSTS cache. The result of a triggered bug is that HTTP accesses to `example.com` get converted to HTTPS for a different period of time than what was asked for by the origin server. If `example.com` for example stops supporting HTTPS at its expiry time, curl might then fail to access `http://example.com` until the (wrongly set) timeout expires. This bug can also expire the parent's entry *earlier*, thus making curl inadvertently switch back to insecure HTTP earlier than otherwise intended.

Affected

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

Vendor states this is fixed in 7.74.0 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 8.11.0 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

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

References (13)

PatchVendor Advisory
Source: 2499f714-1537-4658-8207-48ae4bb9eae9
https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2024-9681.html
Vendor Advisory
Source: 2499f714-1537-4658-8207-48ae4bb9eae9
https://curl.se/docs/CVE-2024-9681.json
ExploitIssue TrackingPatchThird Party Advisory
Source: 2499f714-1537-4658-8207-48ae4bb9eae9
https://hackerone.com/reports/2764830
Mailing ListPatchThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/11/06/2
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241213-0006/
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/10
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/11
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2025/Apr/12

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

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

CVSS

Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
LOW
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-697

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