CVE-2025-66490

Traefik is an HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer. For versions prior to 2.11.32 and 2.11.31 through 3.6.2, requests using PathPrefix, Path or PathRegex matchers can bypass path normalization. When Traefik uses path-based routing, requests containing URL-encoded restricted characters (/, \, Null, ;, ?, #) can bypass the middleware chain and reach unintended backends. For example, a request to http://mydomain.example.com/admin%2F could reach service-a without triggering my-security-middleware, bypassing security controls for the /admin/ path. This issue is fixed in versions 2.11.32 and 3.6.3.

Traefik is an HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer. For versions prior to 2.11.32 and 2.11.31 through 3.6.2, requests using PathPrefix, Path or PathRegex matchers can bypass path normalization. When Traefik uses path-based routing, requests containing URL-encoded restricted characters (/, \, Null, ;, ?, #) can bypass the middleware chain and reach unintended backends. For example, a request to http://mydomain.example.com/admin%2F could reach service-a without triggering my-security-middleware, bypassing security controls for the /admin/ path. This issue is fixed in versions 2.11.32 and 3.6.3.

Path Normalization Bypass in Traefik Router + Middleware Rules in github.com/traefik/traefik

## Impact There is a potential vulnerability in Traefik managing the requests using a `PathPrefix`, `Path` or `PathRegex` matcher. When Traefik is configured to route the requests to a backend using a matcher based on the path; if the request path contains an encoded restricted character from the following set **('/', '\', 'Null', ';', '?', '#')**, it’s possible to target a backend, exposed using another router, by-passing the middlewares chain. ## Example ```yaml apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1 kind: IngressRoute metadata: name: my-service spec: routes: - match: PathPrefix(‘/admin/’) kind: Rule services: - name: service-a port: 8080 middlewares: - name: my-security-middleware - match: PathPrefix(‘/’) kind: Rule services: - name: service-a port: 8080 ``` In such a case, the request `http://mydomain.example.com/admin%2F` will reach the backend `service-a` without operating the middleware `my-security-middleware` and passing the security put in place for the `/admin/` path. ## Patches - https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v2.11.32 - https://github.com/traefik/traefik/releases/tag/v3.6.4 ## 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 vulnerability exists in Traefik’s path matching logic that allows attackers to bypass access-control middleware (e.g., blocking rules) by using URL-encoded paths. I found this vulnerability while playing PwnSec CTF 2025 with my team @0xL4ugh ### Details Traefik evaluates router rules before decoding or normalizing the request path, but forwards the request after decoding to the backend service. As a result, routes meant to block access to sensitive endpoints (such as internal, beta, or admin endpoints) can be trivially bypassed. ### PoC Traefik configuration used in this issue : ```[http.routers.flask-router-report-deny] entryPoints = ["web"] rule = "PathPrefix(`/report_note`)" priority = 10 middlewares = ["block-access"] service = "flask-service" [http.middlewares.block-access.replacePathRegex] regex = ".*" replacement = "/blocked" ``` The intention is to block all access to /report_note. However, the following request bypasses the block: ``` POST /%2freport_note HTTP/1.1 Host: localhost:62814 ``` ### Impact Access Control Bypass: Any endpoint intended to be blocked (e.g., admin/debug/beta APIs) can be accessed by URL-encoding slashes or other characters. This could lead to: - Unauthorized access to restricted endpoints - Execution of protected internal functionality - Potential privilege escalation - Bypass of security policies enforced via Traefik routing rules </details>