How severe is CVE-2026-42578?

CVE-2026-42578 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-42578?

Affected package information for CVE-2026-42578 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I patch CVE-2026-42578?

Apply the netty netty security patch or hotfix for CVE-2026-42578 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

How do I detect CVE-2026-42578 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every netty netty deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above. Because the exploit targets the running system rather than your application code, also watch for exploitation at the network and runtime layer — O3 flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic even before a vulnerable build is confirmed.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-42578 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cut exposure now: restrict the management/admin interface to trusted networks, segment the device, and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations and any WAF/IPS signature. O3's runtime protection blocks the exploit chain at execution, holding the line on unpatched or end-of-life systems until you can patch.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-42578?

O3 detects and blocks CVE-2026-42578 exploitation at runtime: eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches the post-exploitation callback and severs the attacker's outbound channel.

Is CVE-2026-42578 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-42578 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-42578?

CVE-2026-42578 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.4%, placing it in the 32th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-42578?

CVE-2026-42578 is classified as CWE-113 (CWE-113). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2026-42578?

CVE-2026-42578 affects netty netty. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2026-42578 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-42578 was published on May 13, 2026 and was last updated on June 17, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2026-42578: NETTY CWE-113 (High 7.5)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk32th percentile+0.40%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.133.Final, Netty's HttpProxyHandler constructs HTTP CONNECT requests with header validation explicitly disabled. The newInitialMessage() method creates headers using DefaultHttpHeadersFactory.headersFactory().withValidation(false), then adds user-provided outboundHeaders without any CRLF validation. This allows an attacker who can influence the outbound headers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers into the CONNECT request sent to the proxy server. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.133.Final.

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

nettynetty

≥ 4.2.0 && < 4.2.13

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every netty netty deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above. Because the exploit targets the running system rather than your application code, also watch for exploitation at the network and runtime layer — O3 flags the exploit behaviour from runtime telemetry and egress traffic even before a vulnerable build is confirmed.
Fix
Apply the netty netty security patch or hotfix for CVE-2026-42578 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.
Workarounds
Cut exposure now: restrict the management/admin interface to trusted networks, segment the device, and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations and any WAF/IPS signature. O3's runtime protection blocks the exploit chain at execution, holding the line on unpatched or end-of-life systems until you can patch.
How O3 protects you
O3 detects and blocks CVE-2026-42578 exploitation at runtime: eBPF exploit-chain detection, plus L7 egress monitoring that catches the post-exploitation callback and severs the attacker's outbound channel.

Tailored to CVE-2026-42578. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.133.Final, Netty's HttpProxyHandler constructs HTTP CONNECT requests with header validation explicitly disabled. The newInitialMessage() method creates headers using DefaultHttpHeadersFactory.headersFactory().withValidation(false), then adds user-provided outboundHeaders without any CRLF validation. This allows an attacker who can influence the outbound headers to inject arbitrary HTTP headers into the CONNECT request sent to the proxy server. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.2.13.Final and 4.1.

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2026-42578 being exploited in your environment?

O3's eBPF runtime sensors and L7 egress monitoring detect and block the CVE-2026-42578 exploit chain at execution — protecting unpatched and end-of-life systems until the vendor patch is applied.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works

CVE-2026-42578

EPSS Exploitation Probability

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

How O3 protects you

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2026-42578 being exploited in your environment?