CVE-2026-42208

CRITICAL KEV NUCLEI LAB

LiteLLM: SQL injection in Proxy API key verification

Title source: cna
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2026-42208 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added May 8, 2026. EIP tracks 8 public exploits from researchers including yendpoint, HAERIN-L, ridhinva. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional timing-based PoC for CVE-2026-42208, targeting LiteLLM's PostgreSQL injection vulnerability. The exploit uses pg_sleep() to detect SQL injection via timing delays in the Authorization header.

Description

LiteLLM is a proxy server (AI Gateway) to call LLM APIs in OpenAI (or native) format. From version 1.81.16 to before version 1.83.7, a database query used during proxy API key checks mixed the caller-supplied key value into the query text instead of passing it as a separate parameter. An unauthenticated attacker could send a specially crafted Authorization header to any LLM API route (for example POST /chat/completions) and reach this query through the proxy's error-handling path. An attacker could read data from the proxy's database and may be able to modify it, leading to unauthorised access to the proxy and the credentials it manages. This issue has been patched in version 1.83.7.

Exploits (8)

github WORKING POC
by yendpoint · pythonremote
https://github.com/yendpoint/CVE-2026-42208-LAB

This repository contains a functional timing-based PoC for CVE-2026-42208, targeting LiteLLM's PostgreSQL injection vulnerability. The exploit uses pg_sleep() to detect SQL injection via timing delays in the Authorization header.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: LiteLLM (versions 1.81.14 to 1.86.0)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: PostgreSQL backend · access to the LiteLLM API endpoint
devstral-2 · analyzed Jun 19, 2026 Full analysis →
github WORKING POC
by HAERIN-L · shellremote
https://github.com/HAERIN-L/poc_cve-2026-42208

This repository contains a functional exploit PoC for CVE-2026-42208, a pre-auth SQL injection vulnerability in LiteLLM. The exploit demonstrates a time-based blind SQL injection using pg_sleep, targeting the token validation logic in LiteLLM's proxy server.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: LiteLLM (BerriAI) versions >= 1.81.16, < 1.83.7
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Docker environment · PostgreSQL database with LiteLLM_VerificationToken table
devstral-2 · analyzed May 30, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by ridhinva · poc
https://github.com/ridhinva/litellm-sqli-scanner

This repository contains a Python-based scanner for detecting SQL injection vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-42208) in LiteLLM Proxy instances. It includes fingerprinting, endpoint discovery, and SQLi payload testing but does not include functional exploit code for achieving RCE or other offensive actions.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: LiteLLM Proxy
No auth needed
Prerequisites: network access to target LiteLLM instance · Python 3.8+ with requests and colorama libraries
devstral-2 · analyzed Jun 04, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER
by ridhinva · poc
https://github.com/ridhinva/litellm-scanner

This repository contains a Python-based scanner designed to detect SQL injection vulnerabilities in BerriAI LiteLLM proxy instances by testing various endpoints with predefined SQLi payloads. It includes functionality for endpoint discovery, LiteLLM instance fingerprinting, and basic SQL injection detection.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: BerriAI LiteLLM
No auth needed
Prerequisites: network access to the target LiteLLM instance
devstral-2 · analyzed May 23, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by rootdirective-sec · infoleak
https://github.com/rootdirective-sec/cve-2026-42208-Lab

This repository contains a functional timing-based SQL injection PoC for CVE-2026-42208, targeting LiteLLM Proxy versions 1.81.16 to 1.83.6. The exploit uses a crafted `Authorization: Bearer` header with a `pg_sleep()` payload to demonstrate the vulnerability via response timing differences.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: LiteLLM Proxy (v1.81.16 to v1.83.6)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Docker · Docker Compose · Python 3
devstral-2 · analyzed May 10, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP
by Zeltoc · poc
https://github.com/Zeltoc/threat-intel-brief-cve-2026-42208-litellm

This repository provides a detailed technical analysis of CVE-2026-42208, a critical SQL injection vulnerability in BerriAI LiteLLM versions >= 1.81.16 and < 1.83.7. It includes root cause analysis, exploitation timeline, impact assessment, and detection recommendations.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: BerriAI LiteLLM versions >= 1.81.16, < 1.83.7
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the LiteLLM proxy port
devstral-2 · analyzed May 10, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec STUB
by 0xBlackash · poc
https://github.com/0xBlackash/CVE-2026-42208

The repository contains only a minimal README with incorrect CVE numbering (CVE-2026-40487 instead of CVE-2026-42208) and no exploit code or technical details.

Classification
Stub 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: unknown
No auth needed
devstral-2 · analyzed May 10, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by imjdl · remote
https://github.com/imjdl/CVE-2026-42208_lab

This repository contains a functional proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2026-42208, demonstrating a SQL injection vulnerability in LiteLLM Proxy's error-handling callback path. The exploit uses a time-based blind SQL injection technique via PostgreSQL's pg_sleep function to confirm vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Sqli
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: LiteLLM Proxy versions >=1.81.16, <1.83.7
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Docker environment for vulnerable LiteLLM Proxy setup · PostgreSQL backend · Python with requests library
devstral-2 · analyzed May 10, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

LiteLLM - SQL Injection
CRITICALVERIFIEDby HAERIN-L
Shodan: http.title:"LiteLLM"

Scores

CVSS v3 9.8
EPSS 0.9311
EPSS Percentile 99.8%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable yes
Technical Impact total

Lab Environment

COMMUNITY
Community Lab
docker pull litellm/litellm:main-v1.83.3-stable
docker pull ghcr.io/berriai/litellm:v1.83.7-stable
docker pull ghcr.io/berriai/litellm-database:v1.83.6-nightly
docker pull ghcr.io/berriai/litellm:v1.83.6-nightly
docker pull litellm/litellm:main-v1.83.3-stable.patch.3
+5 more images
+5 more repos

Details

CISA KEV 2026-05-08
VulnCheck KEV 2026-04-27
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2026-28503
CWE
CWE-89
Status published
Products (3)
BerriAI/litellm >= 1.81.16, < 1.83.7
litellm/litellm 1.81.16 - 1.83.7
pypi/litellm 1.81.16 - 1.83.7PyPI
Published May 08, 2026
KEV Added May 08, 2026
Tracked Since May 08, 2026