CVE-2026-48521

What it is

Envoy is an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. Prior to 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, and 1.39.1, Envoy's ProdClusterManagerFactory::allocateConnPool dereferences transport_socket_options while selecting an HTTP/3 connection pool without first checking whether the pointer is null. LoadBalancerContext implementations used by synthetic, mirror, health-check, and async-client calls can return no transport-socket options. With auto_config and HTTP/3 enabled, routine traffic reaching one of those contexts can crash an Envoy worker. The relevant scope boundary is that the affected branch requires HTTP/3 in the protocol set and a context that supplies no transport-socket options. This issue is fixed in versions 1.36.10, 1.37.6, 1.38.4, and 1.39.1.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.7% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-09-21 20:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-05 14:09 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.7% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.9 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-09-21 20:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-05 14:09 UTC

Exploit probability

0.7% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-476 · NULL pointer dereference

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Envoyproxy Envoy < 1.36.10
• Envoyproxy Envoy < 1.37.6
• Envoyproxy Envoy < 1.38.4
• Envoyproxy Envoy < 1.39.1

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.9

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

High

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-48521.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-48521. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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