curl

curl at a glance

curl is the ubiquitous command-line tool and library (libcurl) for transferring data over many protocols — on virtually every server and inside countless applications. The curl project ships regular releases plus frequent, well-documented security advisories; given its reach, those advisories matter widely.

For admins curl usually comes from the distribution, which backports fixes — for the regular curl/libcurl advisories, confirm the patched package is installed. The subtle part is libcurl: many applications link it, so a libcurl vulnerability may require updating or rebuilding those apps too, not just the curl binary — statically linked software and containers bundle their own copy. Track which curl your systems ship. Because curl often handles URLs and data from untrusted sources, its parsing and protocol fixes are security-relevant. Patchletter surfaces new curl releases so its frequent security advisories aren't missed.