CVE-2026-118262

Echo is a Go web framework. From 4.15.0 until 4.16.1 and 5.4.1, Echo's Proxy middleware can retain a handler, copy goroutines, and network connections after a WebSocket client disconnects when the upstream keeps its connection open. The raw proxy waits for both copy directions without reliably closing the peer connection when one direction ends, including when a rejected upgrade response uses HTTP keep-alive. Repeated connections can accumulate resources and cause denial of service, depending on proxy-route accessibility, upstream behavior, and connection deadlines. This issue is fixed in 4.16.1 and 5.4.1.

Echo is a Go web framework. From 4.15.0 until 4.16.1 and 5.4.1, Echo's Proxy middleware can retain a handler, copy goroutines, and network connections after a WebSocket client disconnects when the upstream keeps its connection open. The raw proxy waits for both copy directions without reliably closing the peer connection when one direction ends, including when a rejected upgrade response uses HTTP keep-alive. Repeated connections can accumulate resources and cause denial of service, depending on proxy-route accessibility, upstream behavior, and connection deadlines. This issue is fixed in 4.16.1 and 5.4.1.

## Impact Echo's Proxy middleware could retain a handler, copy goroutines and network connections after a WebSocket client disconnected if the upstream kept its connection open. The raw proxy waited for both copy directions to finish without reliably closing the other connection when one direction ended. Rejected upgrade responses with HTTP keep-alive were one way to trigger this behavior. Repeated connections can accumulate resources and cause denial of service. The impact depends on the proxy route's accessibility, upstream behavior and configured connection deadlines. This is a medium-severity resource-retention issue; no confidentiality or integrity impact is claimed. ## Affected versions and patch Affected versions are v4.15.0 through v4.16.0 and v5.0.0 through v5.4.0. The regression was introduced by commit e2133320c7, merged in #2852. Upgrade to [v4.16.1](https://github.com/labstack/echo/releases/tag/v4.16.1) or [v5.4.1](https://github.com/labstack/echo/releases/tag/v5.4.1). The patch uses Go's HTTP reverse proxy, preserves ordinary HTTP handling for rejected upgrades, and closes both sides of a WebSocket tunnel when either direction ends. It also covers an upstream that receives client EOF but deliberately keeps its side open. Fix commits: [v4](https://github.com/labstack/echo/commit/3fb0ba7e17645bb65611e2a08875d0a2f65c421f), [v5](https://github.com/labstack/echo/commit/1855061e572ae9dab727c811d8382f266bfbaaec). ## Workarounds Disable WebSocket proxy routes until upgrading, or apply bounded connection lifetimes and resource limits at the frontend and upstream. Server idle timeouts alone may not cover hijacked WebSocket connections. ## Credits Reported by @irisitymichaelgrundberg.

## Impact Echo's Proxy middleware could retain a handler, copy goroutines and network connections after a WebSocket client disconnected if the upstream kept its connection open. The raw proxy waited for both copy directions to finish without reliably closing the other connection when one direction ended. Rejected upgrade responses with HTTP keep-alive were one way to trigger this behavior. Repeated connections can accumulate resources and cause denial of service. The impact depends on the proxy route's accessibility, upstream behavior and configured connection deadlines. This is a medium-severity resource-retention issue; no confidentiality or integrity impact is claimed. ## Affected versions and patch Affected versions are v4.15.0 through v4.16.0 and v5.0.0 through v5.4.0. The regression was introduced by commit e2133320c7, merged in #2852. Upgrade to [v4.16.1](https://github.com/labstack/echo/releases/tag/v4.16.1) or [v5.4.1](https://github.com/labstack/echo/releases/tag/v5.4.1). The patch uses Go's HTTP reverse proxy, preserves ordinary HTTP handling for rejected upgrades, and closes both sides of a WebSocket tunnel when either direction ends. It also covers an upstream that receives client EOF but deliberately keeps its side open. Fix commits: [v4](https://github.com/labstack/echo/commit/3fb0ba7e17645bb65611e2a08875d0a2f65c421f), [v5](https://github.com/labstack/echo/commit/1855061e572ae9dab727c811d8382f266bfbaaec). ## Workarounds Disable WebSocket proxy routes until upgrading, or apply bounded connection lifetimes and resource limits at the frontend and upstream. Server idle timeouts alone may not cover hijacked WebSocket connections. ## Credits Reported by @irisitymichaelgrundberg.