Rack <2.2.23/3.1.21/3.2.6: Content-Length mismatch on multibyte 404
CVE-2026-34831 Published on April 2, 2026
Rack: Content-Length mismatch in Rack::Files error responses
Rack is a modular Ruby web server interface. Prior to versions 2.2.23, 3.1.21, and 3.2.6, Rack::Files#fail sets the Content-Length response header using String#size instead of String#bytesize. When the response body contains multibyte UTF-8 characters, the declared Content-Length is smaller than the number of bytes actually sent on the wire. Because Rack::Files reflects the requested path in 404 responses, an attacker can trigger this mismatch by requesting a non-existent path containing percent-encoded UTF-8 characters. This results in incorrect HTTP response framing and may cause response desynchronization in deployments that rely on the incorrect Content-Length value. This issue has been patched in versions 2.2.23, 3.1.21, and 3.2.6.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-34831 can be exploited with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a small impact on confidentiality and integrity, and no impact on availability.
Weakness Types
What is a length manipulation Vulnerability?
The software parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data. If an attacker can manipulate the length parameter associated with an input such that it is inconsistent with the actual length of the input, this can be leveraged to cause the target application to behave in unexpected, and possibly, malicious ways. One of the possible motives for doing so is to pass in arbitrarily large input to the application. Another possible motivation is the modification of application state by including invalid data for subsequent properties of the application. Such weaknesses commonly lead to attacks such as buffer overflows and execution of arbitrary code.
CVE-2026-34831 has been classified to as a length manipulation vulnerability or weakness.
Incorrect Calculation of Multi-Byte String Length
The software does not correctly calculate the length of strings that can contain wide or multi-byte characters.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-34831
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Affected Versions
rack:- Version < 2.2.23 is affected.
- Version >= 3.0.0.beta1, < 3.1.21 is affected.
- Version >= 3.2.0, < 3.2.6 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.