LangChain affected by SSRF via image_url token counting in ChatOpenAI.get_num_tokens_from_messages
## Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in ChatOpenAI Image Token Counting ### Summary The `ChatOpenAI.get_num_tokens_from_messages()` method fetches arbitrary `image_url` values without validation when computing token counts for vision-enabled models. This allows attackers to trigger Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks by providing malicious image URLs in user input. ### Severity **Low** - The vulnerability allows SSRF attacks but has limited impact due to: - Responses are not returned to the attacker (blind SSRF) - Default 5-second timeout limits resource exhaustion - Non-image responses fail at PIL image parsing ### Impact An attacker who can control image URLs passed to `get_num_tokens_from_messages()` can: - Trigger HTTP requests from the application server to arbitrary internal or external URLs - Cause the server to access internal network resources (private IPs, cloud metadata endpoints) - Cause minor resource consumption through image downloads (bounded by timeout) **Note:** This vulnerability occurs during token counting, which may happen outside of model invocation (e.g., in logging, metrics, or token budgeting flows). ### Details The vulnerable code path: 1. `get_num_tokens_from_messages()` processes messages containing `image_url` content blocks 2. For images without `detail: "low"`, it calls `_url_to_size()` to fetch the image and compute token counts 3. `_url_to_size()` performs `httpx.get(image_source)` on any URL without validation 4. Prior to the patch, there was no SSRF protection, size limits, or explicit timeout **File:** `libs/partners/openai/langchain_openai/chat_models/base.py` ### Patches The vulnerability has been patched in `langchain-openai==1.1.9` (requires `langchain-core==1.2.11`). The patch adds: 1. **SSRF validation** using `langchain_core._security._ssrf_protection.validate_safe_url()` to block: - Private IP ranges (RFC 1918, loopback, link-local) - Cloud metadata endpoints (169.254.169.254, etc.) - Invalid URL schemes 2. **Explicit size limits** (50 MB maximum, matching OpenAI's payload limit) 3. **Explicit timeout** (5 seconds, same as `httpx.get` default) 4. **Allow disabling image fetching** via `allow_fetching_images=False` parameter ### Workarounds If you cannot upgrade immediately: 1. **Sanitize input:** Validate and filter `image_url` values before passing messages to token counting or model invocation 2. **Use network controls:** Implement egress filtering to prevent outbound requests to private IPs
describes (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-26013US | — | — | ||
LangChain is a framework for building agents and LLM-powered applications. Prior to 1.2.11, the ChatOpenAI.get_num_tokens_from_messages() method fetches arbitrary image_url values… | ||||
references
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchainPACKAGE
- https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/commit/2b4b1dc29a833d4053deba4c2b77a3848c834565WEB
- https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/releases/tag/langchain-core%3D%3D1.2.11WEB
- https://github.com/langchain-ai/langchain/security/advisories/GHSA-2g6r-c272-w58rWEB
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-26013ADVISORY
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