vulnerability / NVI-00016167 / Revision 2
Tornado vulnerable to Header Injection and XSS via reason argument
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for tornado. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
5.4 medium
GitHub source severity; exploitability and local consequence require separate evidence.
As of · GitHub Advisory Database
5.4 MEDIUM (3.1)
security-advisories@github.com severity; no combined Null risk score.
6.1 MEDIUM (3.1)
nvd@nist.gov severity; no combined Null risk score.
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
tornado
source listed< 6.5.3
# Header injection and XSS via `reason` argument ## Summary The `reason` argument (used by both `RequestHandler.set_status` and `tornado.web.HTTPError` is designed to allow applications to pass custom "reason" phrases (the "Not Found" in `HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found`) to the HTTP status line (mainly for non-standard status codes). Vulnerabilities exist in Tornado versions prior to 6.5.3 if untrusted data is passed as the `reason` argument. ## Details In vulnerable versions, the supplied `reason` phrase is used unescaped in HTTP headers (where it could be used for header injection) or in HTML in the default error page (where it could be used for XSS). ## Impact * **Type:** Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (CWE-79) in default error page, or header injection (CWE-644) * **Actors:** Remote attacker who can cause the application to raise `HTTPError`/`set_status` with an attacker-controlled `reason` (e.g., via query parameter used by developer). * **Effect:** Execution of arbitrary JavaScript in victims' browsers when they view the error page — possible session token theft, CSRF escalation, UI spoofing, or other client-side attacks depending on context. * **Scope:** Only applications that
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. NIST National Vulnerability Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
- NVD lastModified does not establish freshness of every associated CPE record.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
Each assertion retains its source. Mirrored records may repeat one underlying publisher; additional links are not independent corroboration.
- GHSA-pr2v-jx2c-wg9f ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
Observed . GitHub Advisory Database; CC-BY-4.0. Each advisory links its original attribution. Null normalizes fields.
- CVE-2025-67724 ↗
NIST National Vulnerability Database · official catalog
Observed . This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Public revision history
Only published revisions appear here. Routine fetches do not create a material-change event.
- Revision 2 ·
Source facts changed; compare the preserved prior revision.
- Revision 1 ·
First indexed by Null; source disclosure date is shown separately.