Security Digest · Vulnerability record

CVE-2026-78663: Double flow control refund on HTTP/2 server streams in net/http

The HTTP/2 server can refund connection-level flow control twice for the same data: Once when a client resets a stream (refunding data for any sent-but-unread portion of the stream), and again when a request handler reads the buffered data.

CVSS 9.1 Critical EPSS 0.6% · p47 Patch this week

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

  • 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 47: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.6% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 47% 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.
  • Editorial verdict: Patch this week. Go October 2026 Security Releases: 16 Stdlib Fixes — Rebuild and redeploy Go services with Go 1.27.3 or 1.26.10 this week, starting with internet-facing HTTP/2 servers and reverse proxies; none of these bugs is known to be exploited.

What it is

The HTTP/2 server can refund connection-level flow control twice for the same data: Once when a client resets a stream (refunding data for any sent-but-unread portion of the stream), and again when a request handler reads the buffered data. A malicious client can exploit this to bypass the configured connection-level flow control limit (MaxReceiveBufferPerConnection). Total buffered data is still limited by the concurrent stream limit and stream-level flow control.

Weakness type: CWE-675.

Product: Go standard library net/http · Assigned by: Go · Published: 2026-10-08

Affected and fixed versions

VendorProductAffected versions (per CVE record)
Go standard librarynet/http< 1.26.9
Go standard librarynet/http/internal/http21.27.0-0 < 1.27.2
golang.org/x/netgolang.org/x/net/http2< 0.60.0

Severity scores

Scored byCVSSScoreVector
CISA-ADP3.19.1 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
  • Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
  • Attack complexity: low
  • Privileges required: none (no login)
  • User interaction: none
  • Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

  • 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): 0.57% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 47.

Timeline

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

  1. CVE.org record CVE-2026-78663 cve.org
  2. NVD entry CVE-2026-78663 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

  1. go.dev go.dev
  2. go.dev go.dev
  3. go.dev go.dev
  4. groups.google.com groups.google.com
  5. groups.google.com groups.google.com
  6. pkg.go.dev pkg.go.dev

Today’s Security Digest