GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64
HIGHTornado: Quadratic DoS via Repeated Header Coalescing
Blast Radius
tornadoReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The HTTPHeaders.add method in Tornado accumulates values using string concatenation when the same header name is repeated. Due to Python string immutability, each concatenation copies the entire string, resulting in O(n²) time complexity.
Given Tornado's single event loop architecture, a single maliciously crafted HTTP request can block the server's event loop for an extended period, causing a Denial of Service (DoS).
Severity: High if max_header_size has been increased from its default, low if it has its default value of 64KB.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | tornado | all versions | 6.5.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for tornado. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update tornado to 6.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-c98p-7wgm-6p64 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.