GitHub Advisoryadvisory · Go
GHSA-gx4c-2hqx-cw2r rclone: S3 backend does not strip X-Amz-Security-Token on a same-host HTTPS->HTTP redirect
LOW
Official page ↗
- Ecosystem
- Go
- Packages
- github.com/rclone/rclone
- Severity
- Low
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
- Weaknesses
- CWE-319, CWE-522
- Reviewed
- 2026-08-05
Affected packages
• Go github.com/rclone/rclone: < 1.74.4 → fixed in 1.74.4
Description
Vulnerability Details
File: `backend/s3/s3.go`
Lines: 1359-1380 (functions `s3CheckRedirect` / `s3RedirectCrossesHost`)
Root Cause
Commit `e7b1eb774` (released in v1.74.3) added a `CheckRedirect` policy for
the S3 HTTP client whose purpose is to strip the `X-Amz-Security-Token`
header (the AWS STS session token) whenever a redirect chain "crosses a
host", so the token isn't forwarded to an unintended origin.
`s3RedirectCrossesHost` decides this purely by comparing `url.URL.Host`
(hostname[:port]); it never looks at `url.URL.Scheme`. A redirect that keeps
the exact same host:port but changes the scheme from `https://` to `http://`
therefore compares as "same host" and `X-Amz-Security-Token` is *not*
stripped — it is sent again, this time over plaintext HTTP.
```go
func s3RedirectCrossesHost(req *http.Request, via []*http.Request) bool {
if len(via) == 0 {
return false
}
host := via[0].URL.Host
for _, redirect := range via[1:] {
if redirect.URL.Host != host {
return true
}
}
return host != req.URL.Host
}
```
Attack Scenario
1. The user configures an `s3` remote (or `--s3-endpoint` pointing at a
self-hosted/third-party S3-compatible service) using temporary
credentials that include an STS `session_token` (common for assumed-role
/ CI / Kubernetes IRSA setups).
2. The configured endpoint responds to a request with a 3xx redirect to the
*same* host:port but with `http://` instead of `https://` (TLS-front
misconfiguration, maintenance redirect, or a malicious/compromised
storage provider trying to harvest the token).
3. rclone's S3 HTTP client follows the redirect and re-sends the request,
including `X-Amz-Security-Token`, over the now-unencrypted connection to
that same host.
4. Any passive observer on that now-plaintext network path can read the STS
session token from the request headers.
Impact
Disclosure of the AWS STS session token (`X-Amz-Security-Token`) in
cleartext for the remainder of its validity window. This is the exact class
of leak that `e7b1eb774` was written to close — it just doesn't cover the
scheme-downgrade axis of "crossing a host".
Vulnerable Code
```go
func s3RedirectCrossesHost(req *http.Request, via []*http.Request) bool {
if len(via) == 0 {
return false
}
host := via[0].URL.Host
for _, redirect := range via[1:] {
if redirect.URL.Host != host {
return true
}
}
return host != req.URL.Host
}
```
Recommended Fix
Also compare `URL.Scheme`, so a scheme downgrade on the same host is treated
the same as a host change:
```go
func s3RedirectCrossesHost(req *http.Request, via []*http.Request) bool {
if len(via) == 0 {
return false
}
scheme, host := via[0].URL.Scheme, via[0].URL.Host
for _, redirect := range via[1:] {
if redirect.URL.Host != host || redirect.URL.Scheme != scheme {
return true
}
}
return host != req.URL.Host || scheme != req.URL.Scheme
}
```
Verification
Added a unit test (`backend/s3/redirect_scheme_test.go`) that calls the real,
unmodified `s3RedirectCrossesHost` / `s3CheckRedirect` with an
`https://bucket.example.com` -> `http://bucket.example.com` redirect chain.
On unpatched code (commit 16091ce365, current master / v1.74.3):
• `s3RedirectCrossesHost` returns `false`
• `s3CheckRedirect` leaves `X-Amz-Security-Token: SECRET-SESSION-TOKEN`
intact on the outgoing (plaintext) request.
```
=== RUN TestSchemeDowngradeNotDetectedAsCrossHost
redirect_scheme_test.go:23: initial=https://bucket.example.com final=http://bucket.example.com s3RedirectCrossesHost=false
--- PASS: TestSchemeDowngradeNotDetectedAsCrossHost (0.00s)
```
After applying the one-line fix above (also adding scheme comparison), the
token is correctly stripped and all existing redirect tests
(`TestClientRemovesSecurityTokenOnCrossHostRedirect`,
`TestClientDoesNotRestoreSecurityTokenAfterCrossHostRedirect`,
`TestClientKeepsSecurityTokenOnSameHostRedirect`,
`TestClientStopsAfterTenRedirects`) continue to pass.
A minimal fix commit is ready and can be pushed to a private fork once this
report is acknowledged.