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CVE-2026-42581

5.8 · MEDIUM

Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework.

Published May 13, 2026CWE-444EPSS 0.68%

Overview

CVE-2026-42581 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 13, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.8 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.8, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.133.Final, HttpObjectDecoder strips a conflicting Content-Length header when a request carries both Transfer-Encoding: chunked and Content-Length, but only for HTTP/1.1 messages. The guard is absent for HTTP/1.0. An attacker that sends an HTTP/1.0 request with both headers causes Netty to decode the body as chunked while leaving Content-Length intact in the forwarded HttpMessage. Any downstream proxy or handler that trusts Content-Length over Transfer-Encoding will disagree on message boundaries, enabling request smuggling. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.133.Final.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-42581?

CVE-2026-42581 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 13, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.8 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2026-42581?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.8, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-42581?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-42581?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-42581 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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