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GHSA-w6rq-6h34-vh7q

HighCVSS 7 / 10
Published Jul 1, 2021·Last modified Mar 13, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

A user supplied X-Forwarded-Host header can be used to perform cache poisoning of a cache fronting a Ratpack server if the cache key does not include the X-Forwarded-Host header as a cache key.

Users are only vulnerable if they do not configure a custom PublicAddress instance. A custom PublicAddress can be specified by using ServerConfigBuilder::publicAddress. For versions prior to 1.9.0, by default, Ratpack utilizes an inferring version of PublicAddress which is vulnerable.

Impact

This can be used to perform redirect cache poisoning where an attacker can force a cached redirect to redirect to their site instead of the intended redirect location.

Patches

As of Ratpack 1.9.0, two changes have been made that mitigate this vulnerability:

  1. The default PublicAddress implementation no longer infers the address from the request context, instead relying on the configured bind host/port
  2. Relative redirects issued by the application are no longer absolutized; they are passed through as-is

Workarounds

In production, ensure that ServerConfigBuilder::publicAddress correctly configures the server.

References

  • https://portswigger.net/web-security/web-cache-poisoning
Risk Scores
Base Score
7.0

The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is difficult for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability and may require special conditions. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a low impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data. There is a low impact on the availability of the system.

Threat Intelligence
6.4

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
0.86%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Not available

We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.

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