---
title: "CVE-2026-71485: Centrifugo: Client-forgeable headers emulation lets any client spoof headers forwarded to proxy backends"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-71485/
description: "CVE-2026-71485 (github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo (Go)): Centrifugo is an open-source scalable real-time messaging server. Prior to 6.9.0, Centrifugo copies…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2026-08-20
date_modified: 2026-09-17
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2026-71485"
kev: false
cvss: 9.1
epss: 0.00609
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2026-71485: Centrifugo: Client-forgeable headers emulation lets any client spoof headers forwarded to proxy backends

**Signal:** Critical and remotely reachable. No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 0.6% , percentile 48: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 48% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo (Go) <= 6.8.4, fixed in 6.9.0 . Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

## What it is

Centrifugo is an open-source scalable real-time messaging server. Prior to 6.9.0, Centrifugo copies the client-controlled protocol.ConnectRequest.headers map through OnClientConnecting in internal/client/handler.go, ConnectEvent.Headers, and SetEmulatedHeadersToContext. The requestHeaders path in internal/proxy/http.go, the requestMetadata path in internal/proxy/grpc.go, and the Consume path in internal/unigrpc/grpc.go can forward an allowlisted value as a trusted backend header or metadata value. A remote client can spoof a header such as x-trusted-user for connect, refresh, subscribe, publish, RPC, and related proxy calls when the backend relies on that header for authentication or authorization. The unidirectional gRPC transport has no transport-level HTTP header that can override the emulated value. This issue is fixed in version 6.9.0.

## Affected packages

- Go `github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo` <= 6.8.4 → fixed: 6.9.0

## Affected products (CVE record)

- centrifugal centrifugo: < 6.9.0

## Severity

- GitHub_M CVSS 3.1: 9.1 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`
- GitHub CVSS 3.1: 9.1 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`

## Exploitation

- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none , automatable yes , technical impact total .
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.61% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 48.

## Sources

- [GitHub Advisory GHSA-9468-v6mj-fppw](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-9468-v6mj-fppw)
- [CVE.org record CVE-2026-71485](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-71485)
- [NVD entry CVE-2026-71485](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-71485)
- [github.com](https://github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo/security/advisories/GHSA-9468-v6mj-fppw)
- [github.com](https://github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo/pull/1182)
- [github.com](https://github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo/commit/84d38cea1dd2efa24375a148817a974c8727f4b0)
- [github.com](https://github.com/centrifugal/centrifugo/releases/tag/v6.9.0)

---
Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-71485/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt