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When str.lower() is a security vulnerability in Python – Seth Larson

https://sethmlarson.dev/when-str-lower-is-a-security-vulnerability
13•rbanffy•1h ago

Comments

echoangle•11m ago
> This is why calling str.lower() represents a difference in the implementation and the specification, and therefore a vulnerability:

I wish there was some explanation how this is a vulnerability and not just a bug generating erroneous data.

Vulnerability for me sounds like there’s a reasonable way to create an exploit from the bug, and I don’t see one here as someone who’s not very familiar with the topic.

SethMLarson•6m ago
Author here, that's a good idea. A straightforward way to exploit an implementation differential like this is if you have a software system that contains two different implementations of IDNA 2003 processing user input. One part of the process processes the domain correctly, the other incorrectly, and in this case you can have one part of a system (such as a policy/filter) "see" the data one way and the other part of the system (such as, taking an action as a result of the data) see the data in another way.

Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) is an example of such an exploit targeting a differential in implementations of URL parsers, which is similar to this implementation difference.

tptacek•5m ago
It creates a parser differential; two different components of the system can treat the same string as different hostnames. Things that have trusted hostnames, or privileged/admin hostnames that are screened out, or SSRF filters all depend on accurately comparing presented hostnames.
zaphar•4m ago
I'm too lazy to investigate further but my guess is that if there is a vulnerability here it has something to do with dns name spoofing.

Tracing Claude Tag, Anthropic's Slack Agent

https://docs.scorecard.io/intro/claude-tag-tracing
1•Rutledge•12s ago•0 comments

OpenAI's 700W Jalapeño ASIC outpaces 1,400W Nvidia flagship GPU

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/openai-says-its-jalapeno-chip-beats-nvi...
1•rbanffy•2m ago•0 comments

One Go binary, one YAML file, one SQLite database: I wrote my monitoring tool

https://rvier.fr/posts/why-i-wrote-my-own-monitoring-tool-EN
1•brvier•8m ago•0 comments

Claim your city's #1 spot

https://www.outbidhere.com
1•paulmbw•8m ago•1 comments

Valley of the Ants

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_ants
1•marysminefnuf•9m ago•0 comments

Ripping Off the Hey.com Band-Aid

https://kylemcgough.com/blogs/ripping-off-the-heycom-band-aid
7•sosodev•13m ago•0 comments

Python's pre-declared constants are kinda weird

https://sebsite.pw/w/20260801-pythonconstants.html
1•rbanffy•13m ago•0 comments

Same net, same seed – 100% vs. 50% on unseen magnitudes

https://structured-intelligence.grok.me
1•jarrodseth•14m ago•0 comments

Making Atuin sync 32x faster with packfiles

https://blog.atuin.sh/making-atuin-sync-32x-faster-with-packfiles/
2•sea-gold•14m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Flinch – a Dutch auction for one ad slot that never ends

https://flinch.auction/
1•nadermx•16m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Graphlib 3.1 – the C++ 23, header only solution to directional graphs

https://github.com/RANDOMFNP/Graphlib
1•RandomFNP•18m ago•0 comments

Ask HN: Is "3D as software" about to undergo a Cambrian Explosion?

2•baigy•19m ago•0 comments

On the gradual formation of thoughts in the process of speech (1805) [pdf]

https://odradeksjourney.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/on-the-gradual-formation-of-thou...
1•rzk•20m ago•0 comments

Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/19/2026-09944/uniform-financial-institutions-ra...
1•petethomas•22m ago•0 comments

The Second Age of Melancholy

https://buildingthenews.substack.com/p/the-second-age-of-melancholy
1•OrrH•24m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Codex / Claude Code harness for Java high performance improvements

https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers/io.github.JAIPilot%2Fjaipilot/versions/6.4.2
3•surajkrajan•28m ago•0 comments

Show HN: Ecdeos – P2P Web/Native Distributed OS on Entity Core Protocol

https://ecdeos.org
1•billatbillslab•32m ago•0 comments

AntiNCII – hashing to combat intimate image abuse without file uploads

https://antincii.org/
2•ndf00•34m ago•1 comments

XCancel also down, at least for time being

8•orange999•34m ago•1 comments

OKF Isn't Replacing the Vector Database. It's Freeing It

https://medium.com/@majid.fekri/okf-isnt-replacing-the-vector-database-it-s-freeing-it-3cc64ab47fa3
2•supportm•34m ago•0 comments

The service XCancel is stopped until further notice

https://xcancel.com
4•bio-s•35m ago•3 comments

Burnout, Loneliness, and Why High-Earning Tech Pros Fail at Life Management

5•YuriiWoods•35m ago•1 comments

Turn off Claude Code's Memory [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf54k7tFeEc
2•__vivek•36m ago•1 comments

Grokipedia Stopped Reviewing Edits in April. It Didn't Tell Anyone

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/grokipedia-stopped-reviewing-edits-in-april.-it-didn-t-tell-...
5•mellosouls•37m ago•0 comments

How Big Should a Terraform Root Module Be?

https://newsletter.masterpoint.io/p/how-big-should-a-terraform-root-module-be
1•mooreds•38m ago•0 comments

Open SOTA Registry

https://www.codesota.com
1•devy•40m ago•0 comments

Treasury bonds are becoming less special

https://www.axios.com/2026/08/25/treasury-securities-bonds-lustig
8•toomuchtodo•40m ago•0 comments

Austerity denial and the mystery of Britain's shrunken state

https://www.ft.com/content/910288e8-5ad1-4f09-90fb-36c3efe275e0
2•JumpCrisscross•43m ago•0 comments

A Walkable ASCII Cyberpunk City in One HTML File [video]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YtygAx_C6A
1•DamnInteresting•44m ago•0 comments

Do I Believe in Global Warming?

https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2026/08/do-i-believe-in-global-warming.html
4•activatedgeek•44m ago•0 comments