when a HTTP header overflow error occurs, instead of a generic 400 response, return 431 Request Header Fields Too Large

doc/api/http.md

@@ -829,6 +829,10 @@ changes:
     description: The `rawPacket` is the current buffer that just parsed. Adding
                  this buffer to the error object of `'clientError'` event is to
                  make it possible that developers can log the broken packet.
+  - version: REPLACEME
+    pr-url: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/25605
+    description: The default behavior will return a 431 Request Header
+                 Fields Too Large if a HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW error occurs.
 -->
 
 * `exception` {Error}
@@ -839,8 +843,10 @@ Listener of this event is responsible for closing/destroying the underlying
 socket. For example, one may wish to more gracefully close the socket with a
 custom HTTP response instead of abruptly severing the connection.
 
-Default behavior is to close the socket with an HTTP '400 Bad Request' response
-if possible, otherwise the socket is immediately destroyed.
+Default behavior is to try close the socket with a HTTP '400 Bad Request',
+or a HTTP '431 Request Header Fields Too Large' in the case of a
+[`HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW`][] error. If the socket is not writable it is
+immediately destroyed.
 
 `socket` is the [`net.Socket`][] object that the error originated from.
 
@@ -2171,3 +2177,4 @@ not abort the request or do anything besides add a `'timeout'` event.
 [`url.parse()`]: url.html#url_url_parse_urlstring_parsequerystring_slashesdenotehost
 [Readable Stream]: stream.html#stream_class_stream_readable
 [Stream]: stream.html#stream_stream
+[`HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW`]: errors.html#errors_hpe_header_overflow

lib/_http_server.js

@@ -507,14 +507,19 @@ const noop = () => {};
 const badRequestResponse = Buffer.from(
   `HTTP/1.1 400 ${STATUS_CODES[400]}${CRLF}${CRLF}`, 'ascii'
 );
+const requestHeaderFieldsTooLargeResponse = Buffer.from(
+  `HTTP/1.1 431 ${STATUS_CODES[431]}${CRLF}${CRLF}`, 'ascii'
+);
 function socketOnError(e) {
   // Ignore further errors
   this.removeListener('error', socketOnError);
   this.on('error', noop);
 
   if (!this.server.emit('clientError', e, this)) {
     if (this.writable) {
-      this.write(badRequestResponse);
+      const response = e.code === 'HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW' ?
+        requestHeaderFieldsTooLargeResponse : badRequestResponse;
+      this.write(response);
     }
     this.destroy(e);
   }

test/parallel/test-http-header-overflow.js

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+'use strict';
+const assert = require('assert');
+const { createServer, maxHeaderSize } = require('http');
+const { createConnection } = require('net');
+const { expectsError, mustCall } = require('../common');
+
+const CRLF = '\r\n';
+const DUMMY_HEADER_NAME = 'Cookie: ';
+const DUMMY_HEADER_VALUE = 'a'.repeat(
+  // plus one is to make it 1 byte too big
+  maxHeaderSize - DUMMY_HEADER_NAME.length - (2 * CRLF.length) + 1
+);
+const PAYLOAD_GET = 'GET /blah HTTP/1.1';
+const PAYLOAD = PAYLOAD_GET + CRLF +
+  DUMMY_HEADER_NAME + DUMMY_HEADER_VALUE + CRLF.repeat(2);
+
+const server = createServer();
+
+server.on('connection', mustCall((socket) => {
+  socket.on('error', expectsError({
+    type: Error,
+    message: 'Parse Error',
+    code: 'HPE_HEADER_OVERFLOW',
+    bytesParsed: maxHeaderSize + PAYLOAD_GET.length,
+    rawPacket: Buffer.from(PAYLOAD)
+  }));
+}));
+
+server.listen(0, mustCall(() => {
+  const c = createConnection(server.address().port);
+  let received = '';
+
+  c.on('connect', mustCall(() => {
+    c.write(PAYLOAD);
+  }));
+  c.on('data', mustCall((data) => {
+    received += data.toString();
+  }));
+  c.on('end', mustCall(() => {
+    assert.strictEqual(
+      received,
+      'HTTP/1.1 431 Request Header Fields Too Large\r\n\r\n'
+    );
+    c.end();
+  }));
+  c.on('close', mustCall(() => server.close()));
+}));