WAF bypass of the ModSecurity v3 release line
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 34/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.68% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 51.8% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- Fixed version: modsecurity (Debian:13) 3.0.12-1.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to modsecurity (Debian:13) 3.0.12-1 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
ModSecurity / libModSecurity 3.0.0 to 3.0.11 is affected by a WAF bypass for path-based payloads submitted via specially crafted request URLs. ModSecurity v3 decodes percent-encoded characters present in request URLs before it separates the URL path component from the optional query string component. This results in an impedance mismatch versus RFC compliant back-end applications. The vulnerability hides an attack payload in the path component of the URL from WAF rules inspecting it. A back-end may be vulnerable if it uses the path component of request URLs to construct queries. Integrators and users are advised to upgrade to 3.0.12. The ModSecurity v2 release line is not affected by this vulnerability.
- Published
- Jan 30, 2024
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.6% · 51th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-20
Report tools
Action score
34
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 34 / 40 · 8.6 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.6%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 8.6
- CNA · NCSC.ch
- 8.6
- agree
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| owasp | modsecurity | cpe:2.3:a:owasp:modsecurity |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- owasp modsecurity3.0.0 and later · before 3.0.12
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (NCSC.ch). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
OWASP ModSecurity ModSecurity
- 3.0.0 and later · up to and including 3.0.11affected · patch
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | modsecurity | from 0 | — |
| Debian:13 | modsecurity | before 3.0.12-1 | 3.0.12-1 |
Same product
owasp: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-52747ModSecurity: Multipart form-data parser silently strips embedded line breaks from form-field values, enabling request-body inspection bypass34Monitor
- CVE-2026-42268ModSecurity: Unsigned integer underflow in @verifySSN / @verifyCPF / @verifySVNR operators32Monitor
- CVE-2026-30923libModSecurity3 denial of service via segfault when using t:hexDecode on single-character query strings32Monitor
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2023-28882Apr 28, 2023 · Trustwave ModSecurity 3.0.5 through 3.0.8 before 3.0.9 allows a denial of service (worker crash and unresponsiveness) because some inputs ca30Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2023-38285Jul 26, 2023 · Trustwave ModSecurity 3.x before 3.0.10 has Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity.30Monitor
- Later →CVE-2025-48866Jun 2, 2025 · ModSecurity has possible DoS vulnerability in sanitiseArg action30Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| debian:modsecurity | 3.0.12-1 · Debian:13 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-20 · Improper Input ValidationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Buffer Overflow via Environment VariablesCAPEC-10likelihood: High · High
- Server Side Include (SSI) InjectionCAPEC-101likelihood: High · High
- Cross Zone ScriptingCAPEC-104likelihood: Medium · High
- Command Line Execution through SQL InjectionCAPEC-108likelihood: Low · Very High
- Object Relational Mapping InjectionCAPEC-109likelihood: Low · High
- SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter TamperingCAPEC-110likelihood: High · Very High
- Double EncodingCAPEC-120likelihood: Low · Medium
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
ATT&CK techniques
- Obfuscated Files or InformationT1027
- Masquerading: Invalid Code SignatureT1036.001
- Steal Web Session CookieT1539
- Subvert Trust Controls: Code SigningT1553.002
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Show all references (2 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.