CVE Watchtower

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CVE-2023-43804NVD

Vulnerability Summary

urllib3 doesn't treat the `Cookie` HTTP header special or provide any helpers for managing cookies over HTTP, that is the responsibility of the user. However, it is possible for a user to specify a `Cookie` header and unknowingly leak information via HTTP redirects to a different origin if that user doesn't disable redirects explicitly.

Users **must** handle redirects themselves instead of relying on urllib3's automatic redirects to achieve safe processing of the `Cookie` header, thus we decided to strip the header by default in order to further protect users who aren't using the correct approach.

## Affected usages

We believe the number of usages affected by this advisory is low. It requires all of the following to be true to be exploited:

* Using an affected version of urllib3 (patched in v1.26.17 and v2.0.6)
* Using the `Cookie` header on requests, which is mostly typical for impersonating a browser.
* Not disabling HTTP redirects
* Either not using HTTPS or for the origin server to redirect to a malicious origin.

## Remediation

* Upgrading to at least urllib3 v1.26.17 or v2.0.6
* Disabling HTTP redirects using `redirects=False` when sending requests.
* Not using the `Cookie` header.
Severity Level
HIGH(5.9)
Published Date
Oct 4, 2023
Last Modified
Nov 4, 2025
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
CVE Record Status
Published
EPSS Score (30-Day)
Data Pending
Root Weakness (CWE)
Refer to the official MITRE database for detailed architectural specifications regarding this weakness.
CVSS v4.0 Base Metrics — Score 7.4
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Attack RequirementsPresent
Privileges RequiredHigh
User InteractionNone
Confidentiality (Vulnerable System)High
Integrity (Vulnerable System)High
Availability (Vulnerable System)None
Confidentiality (Subsequent System)None
Integrity (Subsequent System)None
Availability (Subsequent System)None
CVSS v3.1 Base Metrics — Score 5.9
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredHigh
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityNone

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
  • urllib3 >= 2.0.0, < 2.0.6
  • urllib3 < 1.26.17
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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