Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-6253

Exposed Creds in Haxx Curl 7.14.1 – 8.20.0

Public PoCExposed Creds
Published
13 May 2026
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.9
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0072 50th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-6253 is a medium-severity Insufficiently Protected Credentials (CWE-522) vulnerability in Haxx Curl. Its CVSS base score is 5.9 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked in the top 50% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-4 (Information Flow Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

curl might erroneously pass on credentials for a first proxy to a second proxy. This can happen when the following conditions are true: 1. curl is setup to use specific different proxies for different URL schemes 2. the first proxy…

more

needs credentials 3. the second proxy uses no credentials 4. while using the first proxy (using say `http://`), curl is asked to follow a redirect to a URL using another scheme (say `https://`), accessed using a second, different, proxy

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

Insufficient information to map techniques.
Confidence: LOW · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-8926Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2026-9079Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2026-3783Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2025-5399Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2026-6429Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2026-9545Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2025-15224Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2025-14017Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2025-13034Same product: Haxx Curl
CVE-2026-3784Same product: Haxx Curl

Affected Assets

haxx
curl
7.14.1 — 8.20.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement
  • AC-3 Access Enforcement
  • IA-5 Authenticator Management
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V11.3.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Enforces information flow policies so that proxy credentials supplied for one scheme/proxy are never forwarded to a second, differently-configured proxy.

prevent

Access enforcement decisions determine whether supplied credentials are valid for the target proxy, blocking erroneous reuse across scheme-specific proxies on redirect.

prevent

Authenticator management rules govern the scope and lifetime of proxy credentials, reducing the chance they are inadvertently reused on an unintended proxy.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.DS-01 full match
prevents

Encrypting data-at-rest fully prevents insecure credential storage while only partially satisfying the broader data-protection outcome.

PR.DS-02 full match
prevents

Encrypting data-in-transit fully prevents interception of credentials in motion while only partially satisfying the broader data-protection outcome.

PR.AA-01 mostly match
prevents

Credential management practices directly reduce insecure storage/transmission but do not guarantee encryption or transport protection.

PR.AA-04 mostly match
prevents

Protecting identity assertions covers conveyance of credentials but is narrower than full credential lifecycle protection.

PR.AA-03 partial match
prevents

Authentication policies can enforce stronger credential handling yet address only verification, not storage or transit protection.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

prevents

Requiring protected storage, transmission, and non-display of passwords prevents credentials from being stored or sent in clear text where they can be harvested by unauthorized actors.

prevents

Protecting secret and private keys against disclosure and unauthorized use decreases the exposure of credentials that are stored or transmitted in recoverable form.

prevents

Forbidding clear-text transmission and display of passwords, plus the use of stronger alternatives to passwords, prevents credentials from being obtained or reused by attackers.

prevents

Acceptable-use expectations that cover protection of credentials and information assets throughout their lifecycle discourage practices that expose or mishandle authentication material.

prevents

Contractual clauses that survive termination help ensure that credentials and other secrets are not retained or misused after employment ends.

prevents

Regular reminders about password security and personal accountability make users less likely to store or transmit credentials in cleartext or other unprotected forms.

References