GHSA-vxrr-w42w-w76g
Flight: HTTP method override enabled by default, facilitating CSRF escalation and middleware bypass
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packagist | flightphp/core | < 3.18.1 | 3.18.1 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
`Request::getMethod()` unconditionally honors the `X-HTTP-Method-Override` header and the `$_REQUEST['_method']` parameter on **any** HTTP verb (including safe verbs such as GET), with no opt-in and no whitelist of permitted target methods. A GET request can silently become a DELETE or PUT, enabling CSRF escalation against destructive endpoints, bypass of middleware gated on unsafe verbs, and cache poisoning between CDN and origin.
### Affected code
`flight/net/Request.php` (≈ lines 281-292):
```php
public static function getMethod(): string
{
$method = self::getVar('REQUEST_METHOD', 'GET');
if (self::getVar('HTTP_X_HTTP_METHOD_OVERRIDE') !== '') {
$method = self::getVar('HTTP_X_HTTP_METHOD_OVERRIDE');
} elseif (isset($_REQUEST['_method']) === true) {
$method = $_REQUEST['_method'];
}
return strtoupper($method);
}
```
`$_REQUEST` aggregates `$_GET` and `$_POST`; on PHP runtimes with `request_order=GPC` it also includes `$_COOKIE`.
### Proof of concept
```
GET /item/42?_method=DELETE HTTP/1.1
```
is dispatched as `DELETE /item/42`.
```
GET /item/42 HTTP/1.1
X-HTTP-Method-Override: DELETE
```
is also dispatched as `DELETE /item/42`.
Trivial CSRF vector (no JavaScript required):
```html
<img src="https://victim.tld/item/42?_method=DELETE">
```
loaded on any attacker-controlled page triggers the destructive DELETE on page load, bypassing Same-Origin Policy (image loads are not blocked).
Reproduced against `/poc4/item/42`.
### Impact
- GET → DELETE / PUT CSRF on any route registered for unsafe verbs.
- Bypass of authentication, CSRF token, or rate-limiting middleware that is gated only on POST/DELETE.
- CDN cache poisoning: the CDN caches the GET response body while the origin executed a DELETE.
### Patch (fixed in `3.18.1`, commit `b8dd23a`)
A new `flight.allow_method_override` setting controls both override vectors. Operators can set it to `false` to disable `X-HTTP-Method-Override` and `_method` entirely.
### Credit
Discovered by **@Rootingg**.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.