CVE-2026-18174

MEDIUM CVSS 3.1: 5.3 EPSS 0.19%
Updated Aug 05, 2026
Fastify
Parameter Value
CVSS 5.3 (MEDIUM)
Affected Versions before 3.0.2
Fixed In 3.0.2
Type CWE-184, CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)
Vendor Fastify
Public PoC No

@fastify/forwarded resolves client addresses from the X-Forwarded-For header. In versions before 3.0.2, when the header contains two or more comma separated entries, the parser trims only space characters and does not strip horizontal tabs, even though RFC 7230 defines optional whitespace as both space and tab. As a result, an entry padded with a tab keeps the literal tab in the resolved address string.

Applications that make exact string match security decisions on the resolved client IP, such as an allowlist, a blocklist, a per IP rate limit key, or audit log correlation, can be evaded because the tab corrupted string no longer matches the expected value. This does not cross the trust boundary, since a tab corrupted string is not a valid IP and cannot be mistaken for a trusted proxy. The issue is fixed in @fastify/forwarded 3.0.2.

Attack Parameters

Attack Vector
Network
Can be exploited remotely
Attack Complexity
Low
Easy to exploit
Privileges Required
None
No privileges needed
User Interaction
None
No user interaction needed

Impact Assessment

Confidentiality
None
No data leak
Integrity
Low
Partial data modification
Availability
None
No disruption

CVSS Vector v3.1

Vulnerable Products 1

Configuration From (including) Up to (excluding)
Fastify Fastify\/Forwarded
cpe:2.3:a:fastify:fastify\/forwarded:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*
3.0.2