The AsyncHttpClient (AHC) library allows Java applications to easily execute HTTP requests and asynchronously process HTTP responses. When redirect following is enabled (followRedirect(true)), versions of AsyncHttpClient prior to 3.0.9 and 2.14.5 forward Authorization and Proxy-Authorization headers along with Realm credentials to arbitrary redirect targets regardless of domain, scheme, or port changes. This leaks credentials on cross-domain redirects and HTTPS-to-HTTP downgrades. Additionally, even when stripAuthorizationOnRedirect is set to true, the Realm object containing plaintext credentials is still propagated to the redirect request, causing credential re-generation for Basic and Digest authentication schemes via NettyRequestFactory. An attacker who controls a redirect target (via open redirect, DNS rebinding, or MITM on HTTP) can capture Bearer tokens, Basic auth credentials, or any other Authorization header value. The fix in versions 3.0.9 and 2.14.5 automatically strips Authorization and Proxy-Authorization headers and clears Realm credentials whenever a redirect crosses origin boundaries (different scheme, host, or port) or downgrades from HTTPS to HTTP. For users unable to upgrade, set (stripAuthorizationOnRedirect(true)) in the client config and avoid using Realm-based authentication with redirect following enabled. Note that (stripAuthorizationOnRedirect(true)) alone is insufficient on versions prior to 3.0.9 and 2.14.5 because the Realm bypass still re-generates credentials. Alternatively, disable redirect following (followRedirect(false)) and handle redirects manually with origin validation.
Weakness
The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.
Affected Software
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Async-http-client | Ubuntu | esm-apps/xenial | * |
Extended Description
There are many different kinds of mistakes that introduce information exposures. The severity of the error can range widely, depending on the context in which the product operates, the type of sensitive information that is revealed, and the benefits it may provide to an attacker. Some kinds of sensitive information include:
Information might be sensitive to different parties, each of which may have their own expectations for whether the information should be protected. These parties include:
Information exposures can occur in different ways:
It is common practice to describe any loss of confidentiality as an “information exposure,” but this can lead to overuse of CWE-200 in CWE mapping. From the CWE perspective, loss of confidentiality is a technical impact that can arise from dozens of different weaknesses, such as insecure file permissions or out-of-bounds read. CWE-200 and its lower-level descendants are intended to cover the mistakes that occur in behaviors that explicitly manage, store, transfer, or cleanse sensitive information.
Potential Mitigations
- Compartmentalize the system to have “safe” areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
- Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
Related Attack Patterns
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References
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/commit/6b2fbb7f8
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/commit/ae557ad35246721c09dafb2976609cd0004e78ae
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/releases/tag/async-http-client-project-2.14.5
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/releases/tag/async-http-client-project-3.0.9
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/security/advisories/GHSA-cmxv-58fp-fm3g