Summary
netty-incubator-codec-ohttp's HPKEContext operations may produce empty byte[] on failures
HKDF_expand: returns non-NULL on failure. The byte[] is filled with zeros and has no way to distinguish success from failure. Since this output is used as HKDF key material for the response AEAD, a failure silently produces an all-zero key.
When EVP_HPKE_CTX_export fails it also returns an empty byte[] array filled with zeros. This byte[] feeds directly into OHttpCrypto.createResponseAEAD(...). A silent all-zero export secret would produce a deterministic, attacker-predictable AEAD key.
Impact
Security-sensitive operations rely on values that are predictable or insufficiently random. Typical impact: forged tokens, guessable identifiers, or broken cryptographic protocols.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-41207? CVE-2026-41207 is a medium-severity use of insufficiently random values vulnerability in io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp (maven), affecting versions < 0.0.21.Final. It is fixed in 0.0.21.Final. Security-sensitive operations rely on values that are predictable or insufficiently random.
- Which versions of io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp are affected by CVE-2026-41207? io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttp (maven) versions < 0.0.21.Final is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-41207? Yes. CVE-2026-41207 is fixed in 0.0.21.Final. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-41207 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-41207 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-41207 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-41207? Upgrade
io.netty.incubator:netty-incubator-codec-ohttpto 0.0.21.Final or later.