High severity · published Apr 2, 2026
CVE-2026-33691
OWASP CRS: Whitespace padding in filenames bypasses file upload extension checks
7.5
CVSS
3.8%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
The OWASP core rule set (CRS) is a set of generic attack detection rules for use with compatible web application firewalls. Prior to versions 3.3.9 and 4.25.0, a bypass was identified in OWASP CRS that allows uploading files with dangerous extensions (.php, .phar, .jsp, .jspx) by inserting whitespace padding in the filename (e.g. photo. php or shell.jsp ). The affected rules do not normalize whitespace before evaluating the file extension regex, so the dot-extension check fails to match. This issue has been patched in versions 3.3.9 and 4.25.0.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)3.8% · higher than 90% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
CO
coreruleset · coreruleset
< 3.3.9; >= 4.0.0-rc1, < 4.25.0 · source: vendor
OM
Owasp Modsecurity Core Rule Set · Owasp
before 3.3.9; 4.0.0 before 4.25.0 · source: NVD