CVE-2026-44312 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.8) CWE-295 vulnerability in css_parser. A fix is available for css_parser — see the affected versions and patch details below.
css_parser allows to MITM included https css urls
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-44312.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-44312 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
css_parser💎css_parserReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects RubyGems packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The CSS Parser gem does not validate HTTPS connections, allowing a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacker to inject or modify CSS content when stylesheets are loaded via HTTPS. The connection is established with OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE, meaning any HTTPS certificate—even entirely untrusted—will be accepted without validation.
Details
In lib/css_parser/parser.rb, the HTTP client sets:
https://github.com/premailer/css_parser/blob/3f91e8db7547fac50ab50cb7f9920f785f722740/lib/css_parser/parser.rb#L646
http.verify_mode = OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_NONE
As a result, the library does not validate the authenticity of HTTPS connections and does not protect against man-in-the-middle attacks. Any attacker in a position to intercept network traffic can inject or modify CSS loaded via HTTPS URLs without detection or warning.
PoC
- Set up a test Ruby project that uses the CSS Parser gem and loads an external stylesheet over HTTPS.
- Use a local proxy (such as mitmproxy or Burp Suite) to intercept outgoing HTTPS requests.
- Present a fake self-signed certificate to the client.
- Inject custom CSS into the intercepted HTTPS response.
The request will succeed and the injected CSS will be delivered to the application, as the connection is not validated.
References
https://github.com/premailer/css_parser/issues/185
Impact
Applications using CSS Parser to load remote stylesheets over HTTPS are vulnerable to CSS injection and content manipulation, regardless of the trust status of the remote server. All users who use CSS Parser to fetch external CSS over HTTPS may be impacted.
Credit
This vulnerability was uncovered by @JLLeitschuh of the @braze-inc security team.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎RubyGems | css_parser | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.1.0 | 2.1.0bundle update css_parser --conservative |
| 💎RubyGems | css_parser | all versions | 1.22.0bundle update css_parser --conservative |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for css_parser, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update css_parser to 2.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44312 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-44312 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-44312. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-44312 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-44312 across RubyGems dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.