CVE-2026-43969 Details
Description
Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows HTTP request splitting and cookie smuggling via unvalidated cookie name and value fields. cow_cookie:cookie/1 in cowlib builds a client-side Cookie: request header from a list of name-value pairs without validating either field. An attacker who controls the cookie names or values passed to this function can inject ;, ,, CR, LF, or TAB characters into the serialized header. This enables two classes of attack: cookie smuggling within a single header (e.g. injecting ; admin=1 to introduce a phantom cookie that the receiving server treats as authentic) and HTTP request header splitting (injecting CRLF to append arbitrary headers or smuggle a complete second request against a shared upstream proxy). The decoder side (parse_cookie_name/1, parse_cookie_value/1) and setcookie/3 already validate and reject these characters; the encoder alone is missing the check. This issue affects cowlib: from 2.9.0 onward.
A CRLF injection vulnerability has been identified in ninenines cowlib version 2.9.0 and later. This issue arises from the cow_cookie:cookie/1 function, which constructs a Cookie: request header from unvalidated name-value pairs. An attacker can exploit this by injecting specific characters into the cookie names or values, leading to HTTP request splitting and cookie smuggling. The vulnerability allows the injection of CRLF characters to append arbitrary headers or to smuggle a complete second request through a shared upstream proxy. Additionally, it enables the injection of phantom cookies that the receiving server may mistakenly recognize as legitimate.
A preliminary patch for this vulnerability has been made available in the erlef fork of cowlib. Validate cookie names and values to ensure they conform to the standards set by RFC 6265 before using them with the cow_cookie:cookie/1 function.
Metrics
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:
CVSS 3.x Severity and Vector Strings:
No data available for CVSS Version 2.0 on this CVE.
CISA-ADP
Assessed May 11, 2026References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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| URL | Source(s) | Tag(s) |
|---|---|---|
| https://cna.erlef.org/cves/CVE-2026-43969.html | EEF | Vendor Advisory |
| https://github.com/erlef/cowlib/commit/177953dd51540da11090666c1f007214127a1144 | EEF | Patch |
| https://osv.dev/vulnerability/EEF-CVE-2026-43969 | EEF | Third Party Advisory |
Weakness Enumeration
| CWE-ID | CWE Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-93 | Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') | EEF |
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| ninenines cowlib | >= 2.9.0, <= 2.16.1 |
CPE
Remediation
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Change History
5 change records found show changes
| Date | Action | Recorded By |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2026 | CVE Modified | EEF |
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | EEF |
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | CISA-ADP |
| May 21, 2026 | Initial Analysis | [email protected] |
| May 11, 2026 | New CVE Received | EEF |