Medium Info disclosure exploit reference

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

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.

Published Mar 4, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 0.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+5
Technical severity (medium)+3
Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3

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.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

0.43%

ahead of 35% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Yhirose

Cpp-httplib

CVSS base

5.3

Medium · 2 source(s)

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.

Exploitation

None

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

Yes

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Partial

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
Documented mitigation — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

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 (Yhirose Cpp-httplib).
The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (info disclosure), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Yhirose	Cpp-httplib	< 0.35.0	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Yhirose	Cpp-httplib	version < 0.35.0	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

None

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
5.3	CVSS 3.1	Medium	3.9	1.4	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.3	CVSS 3.1	Medium	—	—	GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-200 · Exposure of Sensitive Information

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.43%

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).
Look for anomalous data read/export volumes and access to sensitive records.

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSapplication logsauthentication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · yhirose/cpp-httplib
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
Fix documented
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS changed · 5.3
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
Mar 4, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

2 on the record

github.com/yhirose/cpp-httplib/security/advisories/GHSA-8mpw-r4gc-xm7q
Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/yhirose/cpp-httplib/commit/defd907c7469c5c8281247b73bbd07be24c31164
Patch, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Yhirose
every CVE for this vendor

Info disclosure
same class

CWE-200
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

Low CVE-2026-103930 cpp-httplib open_stream serializes CRLF in request target into HTTP request line 1d
High CVE-2026-102944 cpp-httplib: Cookie header leaked on cross-origin redirect 1d
High CVE-2026-54919 cpp-httplib: TLS certificate chain verification bypassed for IP-literal hosts on Mbed TLS and wolfSSL backends Jul 10, 2026
High CVE-2026-46527 cpp-httplib: Malicious `X-Forwarded-For` Under Trusted-Proxy Configuration Triggers Empty `vector::front()`, Leading to Undefined Behavior and Server Crash May 29, 2026
Critical CVE-2026-45372 cpp-httplib: HTTP header value percent-decoding in server-side `parse_header` enables CRLF injection May 29, 2026
High CVE-2026-45352 cpp-httplib DoS: Negative chunk-size in chunked Transfer-Encoding May 29, 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 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-2026-28434 is "cpp-httplib's default exception handler leaks e.what() to clients via EXCEPTION_WHAT response header", rated Medium. It affects Cpp-httplib (Yhirose); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.3 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.43% 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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