What is CVE-2026-84445?

CVE-2026-84445 is a high-severity security vulnerability in google.golang.org/grpc (go), affecting versions < 1.82.2. It is fixed in 1.82.2, 1.83.2, 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e.

Which versions of google.golang.org/grpc are affected by CVE-2026-84445?

google.golang.org/grpc (go) versions < 1.82.2 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-84445?

Yes. CVE-2026-84445 is fixed in 1.82.2, 1.83.2, 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2026-84445 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-84445 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2026-84445 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-2026-84445?

Upgrade: google.golang.org/grpc to 1.82.2 or later, google.golang.org/grpc to 1.83.2 or later, google.golang.org/grpc to 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e or later.

CVE-2026-84445 in google.golang.org/grpc

Q: Which versions of google.golang.org/grpc are affected by CVE-2026-84445?

google.golang.org/grpc (go) versions < 1.82.2 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2026-84445?

Yes. CVE-2026-84445 is fixed in 1.82.2, 1.83.2, 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2026-84445 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2026-84445 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2026-84445 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2026-84445?

Upgrade: google.golang.org/grpc to 1.82.2 or later, google.golang.org/grpc to 1.83.2 or later, google.golang.org/grpc to 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e or later.

Summary

gRPC-Go xDS servers: Denial of Service (DoS) via crash due to missing :authority and Host headers

A vulnerability exists in gRPC-Go servers configured with xds.NewGRPCServer() where a crafted request missing both :authority and Host headers can cause a server panic, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

Servers built with xds.NewGRPCServer install an xDS routing interceptor on every RPC. This interceptor looks up the request’s :authority header to pick a virtual host. The HTTP/2 server transport previously accepted requests that had neither :authority nor Host. When this happened, the xDS routing interceptor attempted to access the first element of an empty slice of authorities, leading to an index out of bounds panic. Since the per-RPC goroutine does not recover from panics, the entire server process would terminate.

This panic occurs in the interceptor pipeline, meaning the transport credentials handshake (TLS, mTLS, or ALTS) and HTTP/2 connection establishment must complete successfully before the crafted request can reach this logic.

Insecure/Standard TLS: If the server permits insecure (plaintext) connections or standard credentials (where client certs are not checked), any unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger the crash.
mTLS / ALTS: If strict transport-level authentication is enforced at the network edge or transport layer (e.g., requiring a valid client certificate), the attacker must possess valid transport credentials to initiate the stream and trigger the panic.

Impact

An attacker can cause a complete outage of the gRPC server by sending a request missing both :authority and Host headers, provided they can successfully establish a transport connection.

Affected versions

google.golang.org/grpc (< 1.82.2) google.golang.org/grpc (>= 1.83.0, < 1.83.2) google.golang.org/grpc (>= 1.84.0-dev, < 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e)

Security releases

google.golang.org/grpc → 1.82.2 (go) google.golang.org/grpc → 1.83.2 (go) google.golang.org/grpc → 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e (go)

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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Remediation advice

The issue has been addressed in master (and backported to 1.83.2 and 1.82.2). The fix updates the HTTP/2 transport layer to reject requests missing both :authority and Host headers early, maintaining consistency with and other gRPC language implementations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-84445? CVE-2026-84445 is a high-severity security vulnerability in google.golang.org/grpc (go), affecting versions < 1.82.2. It is fixed in 1.82.2, 1.83.2, 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e.
Which versions of google.golang.org/grpc are affected by CVE-2026-84445? google.golang.org/grpc (go) versions < 1.82.2 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-84445? Yes. CVE-2026-84445 is fixed in 1.82.2, 1.83.2, 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2026-84445 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-84445 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-2026-84445 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-2026-84445?
- Upgrade google.golang.org/grpc to 1.82.2 or later
- Upgrade google.golang.org/grpc to 1.83.2 or later
- Upgrade google.golang.org/grpc to 1.85.0-dev.0.20260825072537-93e31b48545e or later