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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2026-28434: cpp-httplib's default exception handler leaks e.what() to clients via EXCEPTION_WHAT response header

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 21/100)

  • 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: 0.34% (FIRST EPSS).
  • 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: yhirose cpp-httplib 0.35.0.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to yhirose cpp-httplib 0.35.0 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

cpp-httplib is a C++11 single-file header-only cross platform HTTP/HTTPS library. Prior to 0.35.0, when a request handler throws a C++ exception and the application has not registered a custom exception handler via set_exception_handler(), the library catches the exception and writes its message directly into the HTTP response as a header named EXCEPTION_WHAT. This header is sent to whoever made the request, with no authentication check and no special configuration required to trigger it. The behavior is on by default. A developer who does not know to opt in to set_exception_handler() will ship a server that leaks internal exception messages to any client. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.35.0.

MediumCVSS 5.3 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Mar 4, 2026
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 28th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

21

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
21 / 40 · 5.3 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · GitHub_M
5.3
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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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.

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Affected 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.

VendorProduct
yhirosecpp-httplib

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • yhirose cpp-httplibbefore 0.35.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • yhirose cpp-httplib

    • < 0.35.0affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12cpp-httplibfrom 0—
Debian:14cpp-httplibbefore 0.41.0+ds-30.41.0+ds-3
openSUSE:Tumbleweedcpp-httplibbefore 0.38.0-1.10.38.0-1.1

Same product

yhirose: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-45372cpp-httplib: HTTP header value percent-decoding in server-side `parse_header` enables CRLF injection
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2025-66570cpp-httplib Untrusted HTTP Header Handling: Internal Header Shadowing (REMOTE*/LOCAL*)
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-46527cpp-httplib: Malicious `X-Forwarded-For` Under Trusted-Proxy Configuration Triggers Empty `vector::front()`, Leading to Undefined Behavior and Server Crash
    34Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-21428Jan 1, 2026 · cpp-httplib has CRLF injection in http headers
    30Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-22776Jan 12, 2026 · cpp-httplib vulnerable to a denial of service (DOS) using a zip bomb
    34Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-28435Mar 4, 2026 · Payload size limit bypass via gzip decompression in ContentReader (streaming) allows oversized request bodies in cpp-httplib
    30Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
yhirose cpp-httplib0.35.0 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
debian:cpp-httplib0.41.0+ds-3 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:cpp-httplib0.38.0-1.1 · openSUSE:TumbleweedPackage 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.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-3374522 days apartcpp-httplib Client Leaks Authentication Credentials to Untrusted Hosts on Cross-Origin HTTP Redirect
    29Monitor

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
low · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
Low
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

nvd-secondary

Root cause

The extension requests broader permissions than its function needs and sends the data it collects out for purposes beyond its stated function.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-200 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

json
{  "permissions": ["tabs", "<all_urls>"],  "background": { "service_worker": "analytics.js" }}

Fixed

json
{  "permissions": ["activeTab"],  "host_permissions": ["https://yildiz.example/*"]}

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records