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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 11 May 2026.
LitellmApplication

CVE-2026-42208

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.83.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
LiteLLM is a proxy server (AI Gateway) to call LLM APIs in OpenAI (or native) format. From version 1.81.16 to before version 1.83.7, a database query used during proxy API key checks mixed the caller-supplied key value into the query text instead of passing it as a separate parameter. An unauthenticated attacker could send a specially crafted Authorization header to any LLM API route (for example POST /chat/completions) and reach this query through the proxy's error-handling path. An attacker could read data from the proxy's database and may be able to modify it, leading to unauthorised access to the proxy and the credentials it manages. This issue has been patched in version 1.83.7.

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 · high confidence

LiteLLM versions 1.81.16 through 1.83.6 contain a SQL injection vulnerability in the proxy's API key validation logic. The query builder incorrectly interpolates the caller-supplied Authorization header value directly into SQL query text rather than using parameterized queries, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary SQL commands through the error-handling path on any LLM API route.

MitigationUpgrade LiteLLM to version 1.83.7 or later to remediate the SQL injection vulnerability. After upgrading, verify that API key validation and database access patterns function correctly.

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
LitellmApplication
Affected:>= 1.81.16, < 1.83.7

CVSS 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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify LiteLLM installation and version
    Run 'pip show litellm' or check your package manager to retrieve the installed LiteLLM version number
    Affected if The installed version is >= 1.81.16 and < 1.83.7
  2. Confirm database backend is in use
    Review LiteLLM configuration files (typically config.yaml or environment variables) for database connection settings such as DATABASE_URL, LITELLM_DB_URI, or similar database backend configurations
    Affected if A relational database backend (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, etc.) is configured and connected to LiteLLM
  3. Verify API routes are exposed
    Check if LLM API routes (such as /v1/chat/completions, /v1/completions, or similar) are accessible on the proxy server, as the vulnerability is exploited through these error-handling paths
    Affected if The LiteLLM proxy API endpoints are exposed and reachable by unauthenticated attackers
  4. Check Authorization header processing
    Review server logs or network traffic for any Authorization header values being processed, as the vulnerability involves direct concatenation of these values into SQL queries
    Affected if Authorization headers are being processed and logged by the LiteLLM proxy server

If LiteLLM version is between 1.81.16 and 1.83.7 inclusive, a relational database is configured, and API routes are exposed, the environment is likely affected by this SQL injection vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.83.7 or later
Fixed in 1.83.7
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade LiteLLM to version 1.83.7 or later to remediate the SQL injection vulnerability. After upgrading, verify that API key validation and database access patterns function correctly.

Recommended fix High confidence

1.83.7

  1. Identify current Litellm version by checking your deployment configuration or running `litellm --version`
  2. Stop the Litellm proxy service to prevent during-upgrade access
  3. Upgrade Litellm to version 1.83.7 or later using your package manager (e.g., `pip install litellm==1.83.7` or `uv pip install litellm==1.83.7`)
  4. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the installed version
  5. Restart the Litellm proxy service
  6. Test that the proxy routes (e.g., POST /chat/completions) function correctly with valid API keys

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Litellm Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,340
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-42208 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data