Описание
Caddy's vars_regexp double-expands user input, leaking env vars and files
Summary
The vars_regexp matcher in vars.go:337 double-expands user-controlled input through the Caddy replacer. When vars_regexp matches against a placeholder like {http.request.header.X-Input}, the header value gets resolved once (expected), then passed through repl.ReplaceAll() again (the bug). This means an attacker can put {env.DATABASE_URL} or {file./etc/passwd} in a request header and the server will evaluate it, leaking environment variables, file contents, and system info.
header_regexp does NOT do this — it passes header values straight to Match(). So this is a code-level inconsistency, not intended behavior.
Details
The bug is at modules/caddyhttp/vars.go, line 337 in MatchVarsRE.MatchWithError():
When the key is a placeholder like {http.request.header.X-Input}, repl.Get() resolves it to the raw header value (first expansion, line 318). Then repl.ReplaceAll() runs on that value again (second expansion, line 337), which evaluates any {env.*}, {file.*}, {system.*} placeholders the user put in there.
For comparison, header_regexp (matchers.go:1129) and path_regexp (matchers.go:703) both pass values directly to Match() without this second expansion.
This repl.ReplaceAll() was added by PR #5408 to fix #5406 (vars_regexp not working with placeholder keys). The fix was needed for resolving the key, but it also re-expands the resolved value, which is the bug.
Side-by-side proof that this is a code bug, not misconfiguration — same header, same regex, different behavior:*
Config with both matchers on the same server:
PoC
Save this as config.json:
Start Caddy:
Requests and output:
Also works with {system.hostname}, {system.os}, {env.PATH}, etc.
Debug log (server starts clean, no errors):
Impact
Information disclosure. An attacker can leak:
- Environment variables (
{env.DATABASE_URL},{env.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}, etc.) - File contents up to 1MB (
{file./etc/passwd},{file./proc/self/environ}) - System info (
{system.hostname},{system.os},{system.wd})
Requires a config where vars_regexp matches user-controlled input and the capture group is reflected back. The bug was introduced by PR #5408 (fix for #5406), affecting all versions since.
Suggested one-line fix:
This makes vars_regexp consistent with header_regexp and path_regexp. Placeholder key resolution (lines 315-318) is unaffected.
Tested on latest main commit at 95941a71 (2026-02-17).
AI Disclosure: Used Claude (Anthropic) during code review and testing. All findings verified manually.
Пакеты
github.com/caddyserver/caddy/v2/modules/caddyhttp
>= 2.7.5, <= 2.11.1
2.11.2
Связанные уязвимости
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. From version 2.7.5 to before version 2.11.2, the vars_regexp matcher in vars.go:337 double-expands user-controlled input through the Caddy replacer. When vars_regexp matches against a placeholder like {http.request.header.X-Input}, the header value gets resolved once (expected), then passed through repl.ReplaceAll() again (the bug). This means an attacker can put {env.DATABASE_URL} or {file./etc/passwd} in a request header and the server will evaluate it, leaking environment variables, file contents, and system info. This issue has been patched in version 2.11.2.
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. From version 2.7.5 to before version 2.11.2, the vars_regexp matcher in vars.go:337 double-expands user-controlled input through the Caddy replacer. When vars_regexp matches against a placeholder like {http.request.header.X-Input}, the header value gets resolved once (expected), then passed through repl.ReplaceAll() again (the bug). This means an attacker can put {env.DATABASE_URL} or {file./etc/passwd} in a request header and the server will evaluate it, leaking environment variables, file contents, and system info. This issue has been patched in version 2.11.2.
Caddy is an extensible server platform that uses TLS by default. From ...