Startup Ideas Bank
Curl Summer of Bliss: A Recipe for Disaster in Disguise
AI roast score: 20/100 (F)
The idea
curl summer of bliss
cURL and libcurl , Security
curl summer of bliss
June 15, 2026 Daniel Stenberg 10 Comments
The curl project will not accept or otherwise handle any vulnerability reports during the month of July 2026 . We call it the curl summer of bliss .
curl s submission form on Hackerone will be paused starting July 1, 2026.
Summer of bliss starts: July 1, 2026 . 00:00 CEST
Submissions resume: August 3 2026 . 09:00 CEST
The security email address will also be a dead end, as we will not process or otherwise care about security or vulnerability reports sent to us that way either.
Whatever issue you find that you feel a need to report to the curl project during this month has to wait. curl s Hackerone form opens for submissions again on Monday August 3.
We do not accept vulnerability reports over email in general, and this fact remains during and after our vacation.
Vacation for real
The curl maintainers will use this time of less pressure to take in some extra air and to enjoy the summer. Maybe stroll outside a bit more. Breath. Some of us may spend some of this time to see other places.
We may get some extra time to spend on fixing bugs or working on new code. Fun stuff!
Side-effects
As a direct side-effect of this summer of bliss, to allow us some more time to handle the issues that might have piled up for us in early August, we also push the release date of 8.22.0 two weeks into the future. Now scheduled to happen on September 2, 2026.
Vulnerability rate
As previously mentioned, we have been under a huge pressure for the last four months or so. Now we need some rest. We do not expect this deluge to be over.
GitHub
curl s issue and pull-request trackers on GitHub remain open and active like normal.
You too?
If you and your Open Source projects also want to participate in the summer of bliss 2026: just do it and let us know! I would of course encourage you to do so. To take care of yourself as a top priority.
The bad guys won t rest
Probably not. But we will.
But what if there is an emergency
Then we get to read about it in August. Or you get a support contract and we get to read about it earlier.
Contracts excluded
Everyone with a paid support contracts will of course still get full and appropriate service even during this period.
Daniel, in a relaxed state.
Credits
The ice cream image was made by fotografierende from Pixabay
Discussed
On hacker news .
cURL and libcurl hackerone Security
The roast
Taking a month off from handling security vulnerabilities is like inviting hackers to a free-for-all. The 'Curl Summer of Bliss' essentially leaves the doors wide open for all kinds of attacks, with a neon sign saying 'Hey, we're not watching!' This isn't just a bad idea; it's reckless, especially in the security domain where the stakes are incredibly high. The delays in handling urgent security issues in favor of 'strolling outside' and 'taking in some extra air' are a surefire way to lose customer trust and face potential lawsuits.
Additionally, pushing the release date of a new version due to this 'summer of bliss' shows a lack of commitment to reliability and timely updates. This will likely irritate and alienate both individual users and enterprise clients who rely on cURL for critical operations. No serious security-focused project can afford such a luxury without dire consequences.
Lastly, while the project aims to alleviate pressure on developers, it fundamentally misunderstands the continuous and unforgiving nature of cybersecurity. The bad actors don't take vacations, and neither should you if you're providing a security service.
Red flags
- Security vulnerabilities left unhandled for a month
- Increased risk of cyberattacks
- Loss of customer trust and reliability
Verdict
Abandon this ill-conceived 'summer of bliss' for the sake of your users and your reputation.
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