# CVE-2023-38199: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass WAF protections by sending multiple Content-Type headers, exploiting confusion between the WAF and backend application.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 13 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 30 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2023-38199, GHSA-662c-vg67-m327, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-38199, openSUSE-SU-2024:13187-1

## What is CVE-2023-38199?

CVE-2023-38199 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Jul 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

coreruleset (aka OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set) through 3.3.4 does not detect multiple Content-Type request headers on some platforms. This might allow attackers to bypass a WAF with a crafted payload, aka "Content-Type confusion" between the WAF and the backend application. This occurs when the web application relies on only the last Content-Type header. Other platforms may reject the additional Content-Type header or merge conflicting headers, leading to detection as a malformed header.

Weakness: CWE-843 (Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38199?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Owasp Coreruleset.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38199?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2023-38199 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-38199 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38199 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 13 Jul 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38199/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38199/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38199
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38199
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38199

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38199/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.