AsyncHttpClient async-http-client up to 2.16.0/3.0.11 SOCKS Proxy cleartext transmission

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in AsyncHttpClient async-http-client up to 2.16.0/3.0.11. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component SOCKS Proxy. This manipulation causes cleartext transmission. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-85719. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in AsyncHttpClient async-http-client up to 2.16.0/3.0.11. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing of the component SOCKS Proxy. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a cleartext transmission vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-319. The product transmits sensitive or security-critical data in cleartext in a communication channel that can be sniffed by unauthorized actors. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

The AsyncHttpClient (AHC) library allows Java applications to easily execute HTTP requests and asynchronously process HTTP responses. From 2.1.0 until 2.16.1 and 3.0.12, requests using an authenticated SOCKS proxy can expose the proxy's credentials to the origin because NettyRequestFactory and NettyRequestSender attach Proxy-Authorization without confirming that the request is being sent to an HTTP proxy. With preemptive proxy authentication, the header is attached to a plaintext HTTP request, exposing credentials such as directly reversible Basic credentials to the origin. With the default non-preemptive flow, a hostile origin can return a 407 response and ProxyUnauthorized407Interceptor sends the proxy credentials through the existing SOCKS tunnel, including NTLM, Kerberos, and SPNEGO credentials. Releases before 2.1.0 lack SOCKS proxy support. This issue is fixed in versions 2.16.1 and 3.0.12.

It is possible to read the advisory at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-85719 since 09/04/2026. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1040 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 2.16.1 or 3.0.12 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Vendor

• AsyncHttpClient

Name

• async-http-client

Version

• 2.0
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3
• 2.4
• 2.5
• 2.6
• 2.7
• 2.8
• 2.9
• 2.10
• 2.11
• 2.12
• 2.13
• 2.14
• 2.15
• 2.16.0
• 3.0.0
• 3.0.1
• 3.0.2
• 3.0.3
• 3.0.4
• 3.0.5
• 3.0.6
• 3.0.7
• 3.0.8
• 3.0.9
• 3.0.10
• 3.0.11

Website

• Product: https://github.com/AsyncHttpClient/async-http-client/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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