urllib3: Sensitive headers forwarded across origins in proxied low-level redirects
Impact
When following cross-origin redirects for requests made using urllib3’s high-level APIs, such as urllib3.request(), PoolManager.request(), and ProxyManager.request(), sensitive headers — Authorization, Cookie, and Proxy-Authorization (defined in Retry.DEFAULT_REMOVE_HEADERS_ON_REDIRECT) — are stripped by default, as expected.
However, cross-origin redirects followed from the low-level API via ProxyManager.connection_from_url().urlopen(..., assert_same_host=False) still forward these sensitive headers.
Affected usage
Applications and libraries using urllib3 versions earlier than 2.7.0 may be affected if they allow cross-origin redirects while making requests through HTTPConnection.urlopen() instances created via ProxyManager.connection_from_url().
Remediation
Upgrade to urllib3 version 2.7.0 or later, in which sensitive headers are stripped from redirects followed by HTTPConnection.
If upgrading is not immediately possible, avoid using this low-level redirect flow for cross-origin redirects. If appropriate for your use case, switch to ProxyManager.request().
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python (PyPI) | urllib3 | >= 1.23, < 2.7.0 | 2.7.0 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-200- Platform
- Python (PyPI)
- Package
urllib3- Disclosed
- 11.05.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 15:17
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2026-141 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-qccp-gfcp-xxvc - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: urllib3
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 22
- First → latest
- 01.2017 09.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 11
- Medium 10
Disclosures per year
- 2017: 1
- 2018: 1
- 2019: 2
- 2020: 2
- 2021: 2
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 3
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 4
- 2026: 6
-
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