CVE-2026-9545: exposing HTTP/3 early data

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2026-07-03 · updated 2026-09-15
Weakness: CWE-200

Description

In this scenario, libcurl first uses a proper HTTP/3 server for the initial transfers, and when it makes a second transfer to the same site it has been replaced by the attacker's impostor machine - without a valid certificate. When libcurl returns to the hostname the second time with a cached SSL session (`CURLOPT_SSL_SESSIONID_CACHE` is not disabled) and early data enabled (the `CURLSSLOPT_EARLYDATA` bit is set in `CURLOPT_SSL_OPTIONS`), libcurl might send off the second request's bytes on that new connection *before* enforcing the certificate verification failure. Potentially leaking sensitive information.

Affected products

curl: from 8.11.0 before 8.21.0 — fixed in 8.21.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: curl 8.21.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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