Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
curl could fail to enforce a saved HTTPS-only rule when a hostname used certain internationalized dot characters. A user or automated process expecting curl to upgrade HTTP to HTTPS could instead make a clear-text HTTP transfer. The main business risk is confidentiality loss for sensitive data sent over HTTP.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where curl handles credentials, tokens, personal data, or internal service traffic. This is high severity because it can silently remove HTTPS protection, but evidence provided does not support emergency active-exploitation treatment.
Technical view
In curl versions before 7.87.0, HSTS state could be stored using one IDN hostname form and later looked up using another. This mismatch let HSTS be bypassed for hostnames using IDN characters such as an ideographic full stop, causing curl to continue with HTTP.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems, applications, scripts, or appliances using curl or libcurl below 7.87.0 with HSTS enabled and workflows that rely on HTTP-to-HTTPS upgrading.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The vulnerability is network-reachable, low-complexity, and requires no privileges or user interaction, but the cited impact is confidentiality loss only.
Researcher notes
Focus review on HSTS-enabled curl/libcurl consumers before 7.87.0 and IDN hostname normalization behavior. Evidence supports an HSTS bypass leading to clear-text transfer; it does not establish integrity impact, availability impact, or public exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade curl or libcurl to 7.87.0 or later.
- Apply vendor-patched packages from affected Linux or appliance vendors.
- Review Fedora, Gentoo, NetApp, or other vendor guidance for product-specific fixes.
- Use explicit HTTPS URLs for sensitive transfers where operationally possible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory curl and libcurl versions across servers, containers, endpoints, and appliances.
- Flag any curl or libcurl version below 7.87.0.
- Check whether applications use curl HSTS support with HTTP URLs.
- Confirm vendor package versions include the CVE-2022-43551 fix.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-319: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-43551 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://hackerone.com/reports/1755083CVE reference
- FEDORA-2022-d7ee33d4adCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230427-0007/CVE reference
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202310-12CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.