CVE-2026-53538 | Python-Multipart: Semicolon treated as querystring field separator enables parameter smuggling

Python-Multipart is a streaming multipart parser for Python. Prior to 0.0.30, QuerystringParser treated ; as a field separator in application/x-www-form-urlencoded bodies, in addition to &. The WHATWG URL standard, modern browsers, and Python's urllib.parse (since the CVE-2021-23336 fix) treat only & as a separator. This creates a parser differential: the same bytes are tokenized into different fields than a WHATWG compliant intermediary would produce, allowing an attacker to smuggle extra form fields past an upstream body inspecting component. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.0.30.

Published: 2026-06-22 Last update: 2026-06-26 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-53538 is rated Low Risk (17.3/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.18%). Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-53538

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-23 — 0.18% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-53538

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.7 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
 2.2 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-53538

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-53538

GHSA-6jv3-5f52-599m · Severity: low · Ecosystem: pip — python-multipart: Semicolon treated as querystring field separator enables parameter smuggling

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-53538

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-53538 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (python-multipart), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-53538
suse low — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53538/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-53538 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (python-multipart), 5 status rows across 5 suites (jammy, noble, questing, resolute, upstream): needs-triage 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-53538

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-53538

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
fastapiexpert python-multipart < 0.0.30 cpe:2.3:a:fastapiexpert:python-multipart:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*

References for CVE-2026-53538

cvelogic Threat Intelligence