CVE-2026-85720
The AsyncHttpClient (AHC) library allows Java applications to easily execute HTTP requests and asynchronously process HTTP responses. From 2.0.0 until 2.16.1 and 3.0.12, a request using an HTTP proxy to reach an HTTPS origin can expose preemptive origin credentials because NettyRequestFactory and NettyRequestSender.sendRequestWithNewChannel attach Authorization to the plaintext CONNECT request before the TLS tunnel exists. Basic or Digest credentials and per-connection NTLM, Kerberos, or SPNEGO tokens intended for the origin are therefore visible to the proxy and to observers on the client-to-proxy hop. The tunneled request still receives origin Authorization after the tunnel is established, while Proxy-Authorization remains on CONNECT for its intended proxy recipient. This issue is fixed in versions 2.16.1 and 3.0.12.
What this means for your business
- An attacker can use it remotely, over a network, without a login, and without anyone at your company clicking anything.
- FIRST's prediction model gives it a 0.3% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 17% of all known flaws.
What to do
- 1Ask your IT team or provider whether any of your systems use the affected product.
- 2If you do, follow the vendor's guidance. No patch reference has been published yet.
Not sure if your company is exposed?
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Scoring
- CVSS
- 5.9 (v3.1)
- Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N- Weakness
- CWE-319
- Assigned by
- security-advisories@github.com
Dates
- Published
- 2026-09-17
- Last modified
- 2026-09-21
- Sources
- NVD
References
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/commit/9dba5ac988b7e750551f59b2eab550b60ac8a0d6
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/commit/d07dbc79f5cf378f63c246f6101d7579ace55acc
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/pull/2234
- https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/security/advisories/GHSA-xr57-gcx8-52hf