{"id":86541,"date":"2026-02-24T12:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:28:23","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"cve-2025-52887-memory-exhaustion-vulnerability-in-cpp-httplib","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52887-memory-exhaustion-vulnerability-in-cpp-httplib\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-52887: Memory Exhaustion Vulnerability in cpp-httplib<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The cybersecurity vulnerability CVE-2025-52887 is a high-risk flaw found within the cpp-httplib library, specifically in version 0.21.0. This C++11 single-file header-only cross platform HTTP\/HTTPS library fails to limit the number of headers when multiple HTTP headers fields are passed in, leading to potential memory exhaustion and consequential system crash or unresponsiveness. This vulnerability matters tremendously as it could lead to system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-52887
\nSeverity: High (7.5 CVSS score)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: Potential system compromise or data leakage through memory exhaustion leading to server crashes or unresponsiveness.<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

cpp-httplib | 0.21.0<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exploit works by sending numerous HTTP header fields to a server running the cpp-httplib library version 0.21.0. This library does not limit the number of headers it accepts, and it also fails to release the memory associated with these headers once the connection is disconnected. This can lead to system memory exhaustion and subsequently, server crashes or unresponsiveness, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability might be exploited using a large number of HTTP header fields. Here is a conceptual example of an HTTP request that might exploit this vulnerability:<\/p>\n

POST \/vulnerable\/endpoint HTTP\/1.1\nHost: target.example.com\nContent-Type: application\/json\nHeader1: data\nHeader2: data\n...\nHeaderN: data\n{ \"payload\": \"...\" }<\/code><\/pre>\n
In the above example, `Header1` through `HeaderN` represent an excessive number of HTTP headers passed to the server. This overload can exhaust the server’s memory, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview The cybersecurity vulnerability CVE-2025-52887 is a high-risk flaw found within the cpp-httplib library, specifically in version 0.21.0. This C++11 single-file header-only cross platform HTTP\/HTTPS library fails to limit the number of headers when multiple HTTP headers fields are passed in, leading to potential memory exhaustion and consequential system crash or unresponsiveness. This vulnerability matters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-86541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t