Individual skill
abusing-hop-by-hop-headers
Testing proxies, load balancers, and CDNs for improper handling of HTTP hop-by-hop headers, where an attacker uses the Connection header to designate arbitrary headers as hop-by-hop so an intermediary strips them before they reach the backend. Enables IP-based access-control bypass (X-Forwarded-For), header-stripping attacks on auth and caching, and cache poisoning. Activates when a target sits behind one or more HTTP/1.1 proxies.
internal/tools/skills/data/web-application-security/abusing-hop-by-hop-headers/SKILL.md
Source commit d42f381ad34843e71a42658e5c57290c713e85af
What was checked
- Matches the observed repository HEAD
- Yes
- Scanner rules are current
- Yes
- Repository scan complete
- No
- Skill scan complete
- No
- Observed behavior
- Network or broad shell
- Last checked
- Nov 9, 2026
These are observations at the recorded commit, not a guarantee of safety. Review the source before running it.
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Repository context
- Repository stars (not skill ratings)
- 1,329
- Repository last updated
- Nov 9, 2026
- License
- Apache-2.0
Observed agent integration: No specific integration evidence. Standard SKILL.md installation does not imply verified compatibility.
- cybersecurity Repository topic
- security Repository topic
- bug-bounty Repository topic
- automation Repository topic
- autonomous-pentesting Repository topic
- ai-agent Repository topic
- ai-security Repository topic
- ethical-hacking Repository topic
- golang Repository topic
- penetration-testing Repository topic
- penetration-testing Declared skill tag
- hop-by-hop-headers Declared skill tag
- http-proxy Declared skill tag
- owasp Declared skill tag
- web-security Declared skill tag
- security Derived category
- testing Derived category
- security-application Derived category
Files and excerpt
File metadata and permitted, redacted excerpts come from the recorded scan. Source links are pinned to that commit.
Read excerpt
# Abusing Hop-by-Hop Headers
## When to Use
- During authorized assessments where the target sits behind one or more HTTP/1.1 proxies, load balancers, or CDNs
- When IP-based access controls (admin allowlists, rate limits, geofencing) rely on `X-Forwarded-For`
- When authentication or authorization depends on a header injected/validated by an intermediary
- When testing caching layers for poisoning via headers that should not influence cache keys
- When you observe response differences after marking specific headers as hop-by-hop
## Prerequisites
- **Authorization**: Engagement scope covering the target and its proxy/CDN chain
- **Burp Suite**: Repeater for crafting `Connection:` header variations and comparing responses