Envoy is an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud-native applications. From 1.36.0 until 1.36.9, 1.37.5, and 1.38.3, a Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability leading to a sudden segmentation fault exists in Envoy's ext_authz HTTP filter when processing per-route authorization overrides concurrently with rapid downstream client disconnects. During standard request lifecycles, Envoy instantiates the ext_authz filter with a foundational authorization client object (client_).

If a matched route dictates a dynamic per-route HTTP or gRPC authorization service override, the filter generates a localized client. In the vulnerable implementation, this transient client aggressively overwrote the default client_ unique pointer by executing client_ = std::move(per_route_client). When a client rapidly establishes and subsequently tears down a stream (such as rapidly refreshing a protected WebSocket endpoint), the downstream triggers the ConnectionManagerImpl::doDeferredStreamDestroy() - ActiveStream::onResetStream() lifecycle.

Envoy immediately sequences Filter::onDestroy() in an attempt to securely abort dispatched asynchronous authorization check transactions via client_-cancel(). By destructing the default client abruptly during initiateCall, a memory lifecycle misalignment occurs within the async client manager. The stream teardown fails to reliably track and cancel the dynamically bound asynchronous authorization tasks, orchestrating a sequence where a late asynchronous callback from the network evaluates against a heavily destroyed ActiveStream validation span, generating a UAF process crash.

This vulnerability is fixed in 1.36.9, 1.37.5, and 1.38.3.