CVE-2025-64484 — OAuth2-Proxy vulnerable to header smuggling via underscore, leading to potential privilege escalation
OAuth2-Proxy is an open-source tool that can act as either a standalone reverse proxy or a middleware component integrated into existing reverse proxy or load balancer setups. In versions prior to 7.13.0, all deployments of OAuth2 Proxy in front of applications that normalize underscores to dashes in HTTP headers (e.g., WSGI-based frameworks such as Django, Flask, FastAPI, and PHP applications). Authenticated users can inject underscore variants of X-Forwarded-* headers that bypass the proxy’s filtering logic, potentially escalating privileges in the upstream app. OAuth2 Proxy authentication/authorization itself is not compromised. The problem has been patched with v7.13.0. By default all specified headers will now be normalized, meaning that both capitalization and the use of underscores (_) versus dashes (-) will be ignored when matching headers to be stripped. For example, both `X-Forwarded-For` and `X_Forwarded-for` will now be treated as equivalent and stripped away. For those who have a rational that requires keeping a similar looking header and not stripping it, the maintainers introduced a new configuration field for Headers managed through the AlphaConfig called `InsecureSkipHeaderNormalization`. As a workaround, ensure filtering and processing logic in upstream services don't treat underscores and hyphens in Headers the same way.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.7% (30-day exploitation probability)+8
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Oauth2-proxy Oauth2-proxy).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oauth2-proxy | Oauth2-proxy | version < 7.13.0 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 3.1 | 4.7 | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.66%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 8.5
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
5 on the record
- datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2616
- datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc822
- www.uptimia.com/questions/why-are-http-headers-with-underscores-dropped-by-nginx
- github.security.telekom.com/2020/05/smuggling-http-headers-through-reverse-proxies.html
- github.com/oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy/security/advisories/GHSA-vjrc-mh2v-45x6
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-76835 OAuth2 Proxy 7.15.2 through 7.15.4 Authentication Bypass via X-Forwarded-Uri Under the Default Trusted Proxy Set Aug 24, 2026
- Critical CVE-2026-40575 OAuth2 Proxy has an Authentication Bypass via X-Forwarded-Uri Header Spoofing Apr 21, 2026
- High CVE-2026-41059 OAuth2 Proxy has an Authentication Bypass via Fragment Confusion in skip_auth_routes and skip_auth_regex Apr 21, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-40574 OAuth2 Proxy has an Authorization Bypass in Email Domain Validation via Malformed Multi-@ Email Claims Apr 21, 2026
- Low CVE-2026-34454 OAuth2 Proxy: Session cookie not cleared when rendering sign-in page Apr 14, 2026
- Critical CVE-2026-34457 OAuth2 Proxy: Health Check User-Agent Matching Bypasses Authentication in auth_request Mode Apr 14, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2025-64484 is "OAuth2-Proxy vulnerable to header smuggling via underscore, leading to potential privilege escalation", rated High. It affects Oauth2-proxy (Oauth2-proxy); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.66% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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