CVE-2026-2836

CVE-2026-2836 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cloudflare Pingora with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-345.

Key facts

Description

A cache poisoning vulnerability has been found in the Pingora HTTP proxy framework’s default cache key construction. The issue occurs because the default HTTP cache key implementation generates cache keys using only the URI path, excluding critical factors such as the host header (authority). Operators relying on the default are vulnerable to cache poisoning, and cross-origin responses may be improperly served to users. Impact This vulnerability affects users of Pingora's alpha proxy caching feature who relied on the default CacheKey implementation. An attacker could exploit this for: * Cross-tenant data leakage: In multi-tenant deployments, poison the cache so that users from one tenant receive cached responses from another tenant * Cache poisoning attacks: Serve malicious content to legitimate users by poisoning shared cache entries Cloudflare's CDN infrastructure was not affected by this vulnerability, as Cloudflare's default cache key implementation uses multiple factors to prevent cache key poisoning and never made use of the previously provided default. Mitigation: We strongly recommend Pingora users to upgrade to Pingora v0.8.0 or higher, which removes the insecure default cache key implementation. Users must now explicitly implement their own callback that includes appropriate factors such as Host header, origin server HTTP scheme, and other attributes their cache should vary on. Pingora users on previous versions may also remove any of their default CacheKey usage and implement their own that should at minimum include the host header / authority and upstream peer’s HTTP scheme.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-2836?
A cache poisoning vulnerability has been found in the Pingora HTTP proxy framework’s default cache key construction. The issue occurs because the default HTTP cache key implementation generates cache keys using only the URI path, excluding critical factors such as the host header (authority). Operators relying on the default are vulnerable to cache poisoning, and cross-origin responses may be improperly served to users. Impact This vulnerability affects users of Pingora's alpha proxy caching feature who relied on the default CacheKey implementation. An attacker could exploit this for: * Cross-tenant data leakage: In multi-tenant deployments, poison the cache so that users from one tenant receive cached responses from another tenant * Cache poisoning attacks: Serve malicious content to legitimate users by poisoning shared cache entries Cloudflare's CDN infrastructure was not affected by this vulnerability, as Cloudflare's default cache key implementation uses multiple factors to prevent cache key poisoning and never made use of the previously provided default. Mitigation: We strongly recommend Pingora users to upgrade to Pingora v0.8.0 or higher, which removes the insecure default cache key implementation. Users must now explicitly implement their own callback that includes appropriate factors such as Host header, origin server HTTP scheme, and other attributes their cache should vary on. Pingora users on previous versions may also remove any of their default CacheKey usage and implement their own that should at minimum include the host header / authority and upstream peer’s HTTP scheme.
How severe is CVE-2026-2836?
CVE-2026-2836 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability none.
Is CVE-2026-2836 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (31st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2026-2836?
CVE-2026-2836 affects Cloudflare Pingora. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2026-2836?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2026-2836 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?
Yes. CVE-2026-2836 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2026-9512.
When was CVE-2026-2836 published?
CVE-2026-2836 was published on 2026-03-05 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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