Out-of-bounds reads in URL parsing and case-insensitive header lookup in Apache bRPC before version 1.18.0 on platforms where plain char is unsigned, such as ARM64, allow remote attackers to cause a process crash and denial of service by sending crafted input containing bytes with the high bit set.
Root Cause:
Two 256-entry lookup tables are accessed through pointers biased by 128 so that valid indices are in the range -128 to 127. Input bytes are promoted from plain char to int without first normalizing them to the signed-char range. On affected platforms, bytes in the range 0x80 to 0xFF therefore become indices 128 to 255 and read up to 127 bytes beyond the end of the underlying tables.
Affected Scenarios:
A remotely accessible bRPC HTTP server on an affected platform can reach the vulnerable URL lookup through an unauthenticated request URI containing a high-bit byte. The case-insensitive lookup is also reachable when untrusted header names are processed through APIs such as the HTTP/2 HPACK path. HTTP/1 header names containing high-bit bytes are rejected by the HTTP/1 parser before reaching the vulnerable lookup. Builds where plain char is signed, which commonly include x86_64 builds, are not affected by this issue.
How to Fix:
Choose one of the following options:
- Upgrade Apache bRPC to version 1.18.0 or later.
- Apply the patch from https://github.com/apache/brpc/pull/3376 .
The fix normalizes lookup-table indices to the signed-char range before accessing the biased tables.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.5 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.CISA-ADP (Vulnrichment) CVSS v3.1 · CVSS v3.1
- EG Likelihood
- 0.6% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS. FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
The CVE record names the fixed release. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it