CVE-2026-15325
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM WebSphere Application Server - Liberty is vulnerable to HTTP request smuggling due to improper handling of TRACE requests.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceIBM WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Application Server - Liberty are vulnerable to HTTP request smuggling attacks due to improper handling of TRACE requests. The vulnerability allows attackers to smuggle malicious requests through the server by manipulating HTTP headers, potentially bypassing security controls and accessing protected resources.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 8.5.0.0, < 8.5.5.31>= 9.0.0.0, < 9.0.5.29>= 17.0.0.3, < 26.0.0.8CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify WebSphere versionRun 'java -version' or check the installation directory for version info. In the admin console, go to Servers > Server Types > WebSphere Application Servers > [server_name] and check the Version field. Alternatively, check the 'product.info.version' file in the installation root directory.Affected if Version is 8.5.0.0 through 8.5.5.30, 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.5.28, or 17.0.0.3 through 26.0.0.7
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Confirm TRACE method is enabledSend a TRACE request to the server: 'curl -X TRACE http://<hostname>:<port>/' or check the web server configuration (httpd.conf for IHS, plugin-cfg.xml for plugin) for any Allow or TraceEnable directives. In the admin console, check the HTTP transport settings under Servers > Server Types > WebSphere Application Servers > [server_name] > HTTP Transport.Affected if TRACE method returns a successful response (HTTP 200 OK or similar) instead of being rejected
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Check proxy or load balancer configurationIf WebSphere sits behind a reverse proxy or load balancer, verify how the proxy forwards TRACE requests. Review proxy configuration files (such as IHS httpd.conf, IBM HTTP Server config, or any third-party proxy) for any TRACE-related directives or lack of filtering.Affected if Proxy forwards TRACE requests to WebSphere without sanitization, allowing request smuggling
Your environment is affected if WebSphere version falls within the affected ranges AND the TRACE HTTP method is enabled and reachable, especially when a proxy forwards TRACE requests without filtering.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data8.5.5.319.0.5.2926.0.0.8
Disable the TRACE HTTP method on affected servers and apply IBM security patches when available. Implement strict frontend proxy validation to prevent request smuggling across HTTP/1.1 connections.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-15325 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-15325 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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