Description
calibre is a cross-platform e-book manager for viewing, converting, editing, and cataloging e-books. Prior to version 9.4.0, the calibre Content Server's brute-force protection mechanism uses a ban key derived from both `remote_addr` and the `X-Forwarded-For` header. Since the `X-Forwarded-For` header is read directly from the HTTP request without any validation or trusted-proxy configuration, an attacker can bypass IP-based bans by simply changing or adding this header, rendering the brute-force protection completely ineffective. This is particularly dangerous for calibre servers exposed to the internet, where brute-force protection is the primary defense against credential stuffing and password guessing attacks. Version 9.4.0 contains a fix for the issue.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| kovidgoyal | calibre | < 9.4.0 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | calibre | 9.4.0+ds+~0.10.5-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | calibre | 8.5.0+ds-1+deb13u2 | — |
| Debian 12 | calibre | 6.13.0+repack-2+deb12u6 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | calibre | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | calibre | 9.7.0-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:10587-1 |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2026:10587-1 calibre-9.7.0-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Apr 22, 2026