mediumCVSS 5.9Vulnerability

GHSA-pw6j-qg29-8w7f

# CurlAsyncHTTPClient leaks per-request credentials on handle reuse ## Summary `CurlAsyncHTTPClient` pools and reuses `pycurl` handles across requests but does not reset them between requests, and several per-request options are applied with no clearing branch. As a result, sensitive state set by one request persists onto a later request on the same client that does not set it. Two credential vectors are demonstrated below — a client TLS certificate (`SSLCERT`/`SSLKEY`) and proxy basic-auth credentials (`PROXYUSERPWD`) — both leaking to a different, unintended host. This affects all released versions through 6.5.6. ## Details In `tornado/curl_httpclient.py`, handles are created once and returned to a free list for reuse (`_process_queue` pops the handle at line 200, `_finish` re-appends it at line 245), and `_curl_setup_request` is never preceded by `curl.reset()`. The function clears *some* carried-over state on the reused handle — `unsetopt(PROXYUSERPWD)` in the no-proxy branch (line 394), `unsetopt(USERPWD)` when no auth is set (line 495), and the HTTP-method flag reset (lines 428-432) — but other options have no equivalent clearing path and persist until a later request sets them again. **Vector A — client TLS certificate (`SSLCERT`/`SSLKEY`).** Set-only, no clearing branch: ```python # tornado/curl_httpclient.py (v6.5.6), lines 498-502 if request.client_cert is not None: curl.setopt(pycurl.SSLCERT, request.client_cert) if request.client_key is not None: curl.setopt(pycurl.SSLKEY, request.client_key) ``` A request that sets `client_cert` leaves the certificate on the handle; a later request without `client_cert` presents it during its TLS handshake. **Vector B — proxy credentials (`PROXYUSERPWD`).** `PROXYUSERPWD` is set only inside the credentials branch and unset only in the no-proxy `else` branch: ```python # tornado/curl_httpclient.py (v6.5.6), lines 371-394 if request.proxy_host and request.proxy_port: curl.setopt(pycurl.PROXY, request

Properties

ghsa_id
GHSA-pw6j-qg29-8w7f
severity
medium
summary
Tornado: CurlAsyncHTTPClient leaks per-request credentials on handle reuse
cvss_score
5.9
cve_id
GHSA-pw6j-qg29-8w7f
cvss_vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
is_ghsa_only
true
ghsa_published
2026-06-15T20:37:24Z
source_url
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-pw6j-qg29-8w7f
ghsa_updated
2026-06-15T20:37:26Z

Related Entities (5)

VULNERABLE_TO (1)

[Software]pip/tornado

AFFECTS (1)

[Software]pip/tornado

HAS_WEAKNESS (2)

[Weakness]Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
[Weakness]Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release

REPORTED_BY (1)

[Source]GitHub Advisory Database

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GHSA-pw6j-qg29-8w7f (CVSS 5.9) — Ninja Signal Threat Intelligence | Ninja Signal