CVE-2026-23527: h3 v1 has Request Smuggling (TE.TE) issue

Published Jan 15, 2026
·
Updated

H3 is a minimal H(TTP) framework built for high performance and portability. Prior to 1.15.5, there is a critical HTTP Request Smuggling vulnerability. readRawBody is doing a strict case-sensitive check for the Transfer-Encoding header. It explicitly looks for "chunked", but per the RFC, this header should be case-insensitive. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.15.5.

Other sources

I was digging into h3 v1 (specifically v1.15.4) and found a critical HTTP Request Smuggling vulnerability.

Basically, readRawBody is doing a strict case-sensitive check for the Transfer-Encoding header. It explicitly looks for "chunked", but per the RFC, this header should be case-insensitive.

The Bug: If I send a request with Transfer-Encoding: ChuNked (mixed case), h3 misses it. Since it doesn't see "chunked" and there's no Content-Length, it assumes the body is empty and processes the request immediately.

This leaves the actual body sitting on the socket, which triggers a classic TE.TE Desync (Request Smuggling) if the app is running behind a Layer 4 proxy or anything that doesn't normalize headers (like AWS NLB or Node proxies).

Vulnerable Code (src/utils/body.ts):

js if ( !Number.parseInt(event.node.req.headers["content-length"] || "") && !String(event.node.req.headers["transfer-encoding"] ?? "") .split(",") .map((e) => e.trim()) .filter(Boolean) .includes("chunked") // <--- This is the issue. "ChuNkEd" returns false here. ) { return Promise.resolve(undefined); }

I verified this locally:

- Sent a Transfer-Encoding: ChunKed request without a closing 0 chunk. - Express hangs (correctly waiting for data). - h3 responds immediately (vulnerable, thinks body is length 0).

Impact: Since H3/Nuxt/Nitro is often used in containerized setups behind TCP load balancers, an attacker can use this to smuggle requests past WAFs or desynchronize the socket to poison other users' connections.

Fix: Just need to normalize the header value before checking: .map((e) => e.trim().toLowerCase())

GitHub

Affected Software

3 affected componentsFixes available
npm/h3<1.15.5
npm/h3<=1.15.4
1.15.5
H3 H3 Node.js<1.15.5

Event History

Jan 15, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:24 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:24 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Advisory Published
via GitHub·08:10 PM
Data Sourced
via GitHub·08:10 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:16 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:16 PM
RemedyAffected Software
Apr 20, 58071
Event
via FIRST·11:16 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-23527?

CVE-2026-23527 has been classified as a critical severity vulnerability due to its potential impact on HTTP Request Smuggling.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-23527?

To fix CVE-2026-23527, upgrade to h3 version 1.15.5 or later, which addresses the vulnerability.

3

What is the exposure risk associated with CVE-2026-23527?

The exposure risk of CVE-2026-23527 involves the possibility of attackers manipulating HTTP requests to bypass security controls.

4

What is the affected software for CVE-2026-23527?

CVE-2026-23527 affects h3 versions prior to 1.15.5 in the npm package.

5

What are the symptoms of exploitation of CVE-2026-23527?

Symptoms of exploitation of CVE-2026-23527 may include unexpected behavior in HTTP transactions or successful bypass of security mechanisms.

Contact

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