lambdaisland/uri authority-regex returns the wrong authority

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

6.5 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2023-28628: 0.55% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 45.95 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary authority-regex allows an attacker to send malicious URLs to be parsed by the lambdaisland/uri and return the wrong authority. This issue is similar to CVE-2020-8910. Details https://github.com/lambdaisland/uri/blob/d3355fcd3e235238f4dcd37be97787a84e580072/src/lambdaisland/uri.cljc#L9 This regex doesn't handle the backslash (\) character in the username correctly, leading to a wrong output. Payload: https://example.com\\@google.com The returned host is google.com, but the correct host should be example.com. urllib3 (Python) and google-closure-library (Javascript) return example.com as the host. Here the correct (or current) regex used by google-closure-library: https://github.com/google/closure-library/blob/0e567abedb058e9b194a40cfa3ad4c507653bccf/closure/goog/uri/utils.js#L189 PoC Impact The library returns the wrong authority, and it can be abused to bypass host restrictions. Reference WHATWG Living URL spec, section 4.4 URL Parsing, host state:…

Published by the source

27 Mar 2023, 22:31 UTC

Last modified by the source

4 Apr 2023, 21:48 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:11 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-cp4w-6x4w-v2h5

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2023-28628

Advisory: lambdaisland/uri `authority-regex` returns the wrong authority
IDs: CVE-2023-28628, GHSA-cp4w-6x4w-v2h5
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2023-28628 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:11 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: lambdaisland:uri 1.14.120. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven lambdaisland:uri: affected < 1.14.120; fixed in 1.14.120

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven lambdaisland:uri: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on lambdaisland:uri.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cp4w-6x4w-v2h5 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-cp4w-6x4w-v2h5 lists affected ranges: Maven lambdaisland:uri >=0 <1.14.120)

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