Fastapi: Starlette vulnerable to O(n^2) DoS via Range header merging in ``starlette.responses.FileResponse``
Affects fastapiSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 0.120.1_1 soon.
Data as of 9 Nov 2026, 20:02 UTC
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 0.120.1_1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Oct 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 9 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade fastapi to 0.120.1_1.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Homebrewfastapipkg:brew/fastapiOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A patch is available in Starlette version 0.120.1_1 that fixes the vulnerability. Users should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the issue. No other vendor advisory indicates alternative mitigations or that no action is required.
Description
Starlette's FileResponse component contains a vulnerability in its HTTP Range header parsing logic that leads to quadratic-time complexity during range merging. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by sending a crafted Range header with many small, non-overlapping ranges, causing excessive CPU consumption and denial of service on endpoints serving files, including those using StaticFiles or FileResponse directly. This affects Starlette versions from 0.115.2 up to but not including 0.120.1_1. A fix is available in version 0.120.1_1.
References
- github.com/Kludex/starlette/security/advisories/GHSA-7f5h-v6xp-fcq8 (opens in a new tab)
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-62727 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/Kludex/starlette/commit/4ea6e22b489ec388d6004cfbca52dd5b147127c5 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/Kludex/starlette/commit/69ed26a85956ef4bd0161807eb27abf49be7cd3c (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/Kludex/starlette (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/Kludex/starlette/releases/tag/0.49.1 (opens in a new tab)