Internet Bug Bounty · Report #1391549
Request line injection via HTTP/2 in Apache mod_proxy
How it was found
I've written this issue up fully here: https://portswigger.net/research/http2#request
In case it's useful, here's the original report as sent to Apache:
I'd like to report a vulnerability in Apache mod_proxy when used with HTTP/2 enabled.
It fails to reject HTTP requests that contain spaces in the :method HTTP/2 pseudo-header. This leads to a request-line injection vulnerability when it downgrades the requests to HTTP/1.1 and routes them on to the backend.
Attacker HTTP/2 request:
:method: GET /anything HTTP/1.1 :path: / :authority: psres.net Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflateResulting request forwarded to the backend by mod_proxy:
GET /anything HTTP/1.1 / HTTP/1.1 Host:: psres.net Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflateProvided the back-end server tolerates trailing junk in request lines, this enables attackers to bypass front-end security rules, poison web caches, and > change the protocol to HTTP/0.9 or 1.0, potentially enabling further attacks. I have identified some vulnerable systems in the wild.
Please let me know if you'd like any additional information
Impact
This lets attackers bypass front-end security rules like block-rules and escape subfolders. In some cases it may enable further attacks via protocol-downgrades and cache poisoning.