nodejs / nodejs/llhttp

HTTP request smuggling primitive: bare LF accepted as a request-line terminator in strict mode

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TypeScript
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Description

llhttp_set_lenient_optional_cr_before_lf documents that llhttp "would error when a LF is not
preceded by CR when terminating the request line", and that relaxing this exposes request smuggling.
url.ts:176 exits on a bare \n straight to the HTTP/0.9 adapter with no
LENIENT_OPTIONAL_CR_BEFORE_LF check — the only line terminator in the grammar that is ungated.

url.exit.toHTTP09 then continues into headers_start with no http_minor guard, so the message is
labelled HTTP/0.9 but headers and a Content-Length body are still parsed.

PoC

const http = require('http'), net = require('net');

const srv = http.createServer((req, res) => {          // default parser, no options
  let body = '';
  req.on('data', c => body += c);
  req.on('end', () => {
    console.log(`  ACCEPTED  HTTP/${req.httpVersion}  ${req.method} ${req.url}` +
                `  headers=${JSON.stringify(req.headers)}  body=${JSON.stringify(body)}`);
    res.end('ok');
  });
});
srv.on('clientError', e => console.log(`  REJECTED  ${e.code}`));

const cases = [
  ['versionless + bare LF', 'GET /x\nHost: a\r\nContent-Length: 5\r\n\r\nhello'],
  ['versioned   + bare LF', 'GET /x HTTP/1.1\nHost: a\r\n\r\n'],
];

srv.listen(0, async () => {
  for (const [name, raw] of cases) {
    console.log(name);
    await new Promise(done => {
      const c = net.connect(srv.address().port, '127.0.0.1', () => c.write(raw));
      c.on('close', done); c.on('error', done);
      setTimeout(() => c.destroy(), 300);
    });
  }
  srv.close();
});
versionless + bare LF
  ACCEPTED  HTTP/0.9  GET /x  headers={"host":"a","content-length":"5"}  body="hello"
versioned   + bare LF
  REJECTED  HPE_INVALID_VERSION

The same terminator is rejected when a version is present and accepted when it is absent. The
accepted message is reported as HTTP/0.9 yet carries headers and a body, neither of which HTTP/0.9
defines.

Scope, stated plainly: this path sets keepalive=0, and a pipelined follow-up request is rejected
with HPE_CLOSED_CONNECTION, so on its own it is a divergence from the documented strict-mode
guarantee rather than a demonstrated desync. Two requests parse on one connection only with
lenient_keep_alive also enabled.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in url.ts:176 and trace url.exit.toHTTP09 into headers_start, comparing the bare-LF path with the LENIENT_OPTIONAL_CR_BEFORE_LF check used for other request-line terminators. Add regression coverage for strict-mode versionless and versioned requests, then verify that strict mode rejects the bare LF case without parsing HTTP/0.9 headers or a body.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
node.js, typescript
Domain
backend-api-design, security
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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