cURL: Heap Overread via Secure Cookie Path Comparison Bug
CVE-2025-9086 Published on September 12, 2025
Out of bounds read for cookie path
1. A cookie is set using the `secure` keyword for `https://target`
2. curl is redirected to or otherwise made to speak with `http://target` (same
hostname, but using clear text HTTP) using the same cookie set
3. The same cookie name is set - but with just a slash as path (`path=\"/\",`).
Since this site is not secure, the cookie *should* just be ignored.
4. A bug in the path comparison logic makes curl read outside a heap buffer
boundary
The bug either causes a crash or it potentially makes the comparison come to
the wrong conclusion and lets the clear-text site override the contents of the
secure cookie, contrary to expectations and depending on the memory contents
immediately following the single-byte allocation that holds the path.
The presumed and correct behavior would be to plainly ignore the second set of
the cookie since it was already set as secure on a secure host so overriding
it on an insecure host should not be okay.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-9086 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-9086
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Affected Versions
curl:- Version 8.15.0, <= 8.15.0 is affected.
- Version 8.14.1, <= 8.14.1 is affected.
- Version 8.14.0, <= 8.14.0 is affected.
- Version 8.13.0, <= 8.13.0 is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.