How severe is CVE-2026-43969?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-43969 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-43969?

CVE-2026-43969 affects the following packages: cowlib (Hex). Ecosystems affected: Hex.

How do I fix CVE-2026-43969?

The records we use list no patched version of cowlib for CVE-2026-43969. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.

How do I detect CVE-2026-43969 in my Hex dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cowlib, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-43969 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Is CVE-2026-43969 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-43969 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-2026-43969?

CVE-2026-43969 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.1%, placing it in the 4th 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-2026-43969?

CVE-2026-43969 is classified as CWE-93 (CWE-93). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2026-43969 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-43969 was published on May 11, 2026 and was last updated on October 28, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

💧 Hex

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-43969 — cowlib

Fix: erlef/cowlib@177953d

CVE-2026-43969 is a CWE-93 vulnerability in cowlib. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.

Cookie Request Header Injection via Unvalidated Encoder in cow_cookie:cookie/1

Also known asEEF-CVE-2026-43969GHSA-g2wm-735q-3f56

Published

May 11, 2026

Updated

Oct 28, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

No confirmed exploitation observed yet

CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-43969.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs4th percentile — riskier than 4% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

💧cowlib

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Hex packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows HTTP request splitting and cookie smuggling via unvalidated cookie name and value fields.

cow_cookie:cookie/1 in cowlib builds a client-side Cookie: request header from a list of name-value pairs without validating either field. An attacker who controls the cookie names or values passed to this function can inject ;, ,, CR, LF, or TAB characters into the serialized header. This enables two classes of attack: cookie smuggling within a single header (e.g. injecting ; admin=1 to introduce a phantom cookie that the receiving server treats as authentic) and HTTP request header splitting (injecting CRLF to append arbitrary headers or smuggle a complete second request against a shared upstream proxy). The decoder side (parse_cookie_name/1, parse_cookie_value/1) and setcookie/3 already validate and reject these characters; the encoder alone is missing the check.

This issue affects cowlib: from 2.9.0 before 2.21.0.

Affected Packages

1 total

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
💧Hex	`cowlib`	≥ 2.9.0	No fix

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

cowlibninenines

≥ 2.9.0 && ≤ 2.16.1

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for cowlib, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of cowlib for CVE-2026-43969. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Frequently Asked Questions

Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection') vulnerability in ninenines cowlib allows HTTP request splitting and cookie smuggling via unvalidated cookie name and value fields. cow_cookie:cookie/1 in cowlib builds a client-side Cookie: request header from a list of name-value pairs without validating either field. An attacker who controls the cookie names or values passed to this function can inject ;, ,, CR, LF, or TAB characters into the serialized header. This enables two classes of attack: cookie smuggling within a single header (e.g. injecting ; admin=1 to introduce a phan

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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