GHSA-qc2q-p7wx-3px3 gRPC-Go: xDS RBAC HTTP Filter bypass via mixed-case Header Matching and gRFC A41 validation evasion

• Go google.golang.org/grpc: < 1.83.1 → fixed in 1.83.1

Summary A vulnerability in the xDS RBAC HTTP filter implementation in grpc-go allows remote attackers to bypass authorization policies (specifically DENY rules) by using mixed-case or canonical-case header matchers (e.g., X-Role instead of x-role). Additionally, the safety guards introduced by gRFC A41 to block grpc- prefixed headers can be evaded via variations in casing (e.g., Grpc-Status). Impact When an operator defines an RBAC policy referencing headers containing uppercase letters (e.g. X-Role), grpc-go fails to match incoming metadata keys because they are unconditionally lowercased. Because of this case-sensitivity mismatch, a policy designed to block requests containing specific header values fails open: the rule is evaluated as a non-match, and traffic that should have been rejected is served. Furthermore, gRFC A41 requires rejecting configuration schemas specifying header matchers starting with grpc-. Because this check is executed case-sensitively in grpc-go, attackers can bypass the validation by specifying titles like Grpc-Status. Patches The problem is fixed in `master` and in the 1.83.1 release.