curl libcURL up to 8.20.0 curl_easy_pause use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
6.3$0-$5k1.50

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in curl libcURL up to 8.20.0. This affects the function curl_easy_pause. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-9080. The attack can be executed remotely. There is not any exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in curl libcURL up to 8.20.0. Affected by this issue is the function curl_easy_pause. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

Calling `curl_easy_pause()` within the event-based `CURLMOPT_SOCKETFUNCTION` callback triggers a use-after-free vulnerability, where libcurl attempts to store a flag using a dangling struct pointer immediately after that pointer's memory has been freed.

The weakness was released by Joshua Rogers. The advisory is shared for download at curl.se. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-9080 since 05/20/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 07/03/2026).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-41511). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.3

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

05/20/2026 CVE reserved
07/03/2026 +44 days Advisory disclosed
07/03/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
07/03/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Advisory: curl.se
Researcher: Joshua Rogers
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-9080 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-9080
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-376076
EUVD: 🔒

Entryinfo

Created: 07/03/2026 08:59
Updated: 07/03/2026 11:48
Changes: 07/03/2026 08:59 (55), 07/03/2026 11:48 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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