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commit 9e77ec82c40ab59846f9447b7c483e7b8e368b16
Author: Petr Viktorin <pviktori@redhat.com>
Date:   Thu Mar 4 13:59:56 2021 +0100

    CVE-2021-23336: Add `separator` argument to parse_qs; warn with default
    
    Partially backports https://bugs.python.org/issue42967 : [security] Address a web cache-poisoning issue reported in urllib.parse.parse_qsl().
    However, this solution is different than the upstream solution in Python 3.6.13.
    
    An optional argument seperator is added to specify the separator.
    It is recommended to set it to '&' or ';' to match the application or proxy in use.
    The default can be set with an env variable of a config file.
    If neither the argument, env var or config file specifies a separator, "&" is used
    but a warning is raised if parse_qs is used on input that contains ';'.
    
    Co-authors of the upstream change (who do not necessarily agree with this):
    Co-authored-by: Adam Goldschmidt <adamgold7@gmail.com>
    Co-authored-by: Ken Jin <28750310+Fidget-Spinner@users.noreply.github.com>
    Co-authored-by: Éric Araujo <merwok@netwok.org>

diff --git a/Doc/library/cgi.rst b/Doc/library/cgi.rst
index 41219eeaaba..ddecc0af23a 100644
--- a/Doc/library/cgi.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/cgi.rst
@@ -277,13 +277,12 @@ These are useful if you want more control, or if you want to employ some of the
 algorithms implemented in this module in other circumstances.
 
 
-.. function:: parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False)
+.. function:: parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False, separator=None)
 
    Parse a query in the environment or from a file (the file defaults to
-   ``sys.stdin``).  The *keep_blank_values* and *strict_parsing* parameters are
+   ``sys.stdin``).  The *keep_blank_values*, *strict_parsing* and *separator* parameters are
    passed to :func:`urllib.parse.parse_qs` unchanged.
 
-
 .. function:: parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False)
 
    This function is deprecated in this module. Use :func:`urllib.parse.parse_qs`
@@ -308,7 +307,6 @@ algorithms implemented in this module in other circumstances.
    Note that this does not parse nested multipart parts --- use
    :class:`FieldStorage` for that.
 
-
 .. function:: parse_header(string)
 
    Parse a MIME header (such as :mailheader:`Content-Type`) into a main value and a
diff --git a/Doc/library/urllib.parse.rst b/Doc/library/urllib.parse.rst
index 647af613a31..bcab7c142bc 100644
--- a/Doc/library/urllib.parse.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/urllib.parse.rst
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ or on combining URL components into a URL string.
       now raise :exc:`ValueError`.
 
 
-.. function:: parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None)
+.. function:: parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None, separator=None)
 
    Parse a query string given as a string argument (data of type
    :mimetype:`application/x-www-form-urlencoded`).  Data are returned as a
@@ -168,6 +168,15 @@ or on combining URL components into a URL string.
    read. If set, then throws a :exc:`ValueError` if there are more than
    *max_num_fields* fields read.
 
+   The optional argument *separator* is the symbol to use for separating the
+   query arguments. It is recommended to set it to ``'&'`` or ``';'``.
+   It defaults to ``'&'``; a warning is raised if this default is used.
+   This default may be changed with the following environment variable settings:
+
+   - ``PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR='&'``: use only ``&`` as separator, without warning (as in Python 3.6.13+ or 3.10)
+   - ``PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR=';'``: use only ``;`` as separator
+   - ``PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR=legacy``: use both ``&`` and ``;`` (as in previous versions of Python)
+
    Use the :func:`urllib.parse.urlencode` function (with the ``doseq``
    parameter set to ``True``) to convert such dictionaries into query
    strings.
@@ -204,6 +213,9 @@ or on combining URL components into a URL string.
    read. If set, then throws a :exc:`ValueError` if there are more than
    *max_num_fields* fields read.
 
+   The optional argument *separator* is the symbol to use for separating the
+   query arguments. It works as in :py:func:`parse_qs`.
+
    Use the :func:`urllib.parse.urlencode` function to convert such lists of pairs into
    query strings.
 
@@ -213,7 +225,6 @@ or on combining URL components into a URL string.
    .. versionchanged:: 3.6.8
       Added *max_num_fields* parameter.
 
-
 .. function:: urlunparse(parts)
 
    Construct a URL from a tuple as returned by ``urlparse()``. The *parts*
diff --git a/Lib/cgi.py b/Lib/cgi.py
index 56f243e09f0..5ab2a5d6af6 100755
--- a/Lib/cgi.py
+++ b/Lib/cgi.py
@@ -117,7 +117,8 @@ log = initlog           # The current logging function
 # 0 ==> unlimited input
 maxlen = 0
 
-def parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
+def parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0,
+          strict_parsing=0, separator=None):
     """Parse a query in the environment or from a file (default stdin)
 
         Arguments, all optional:
@@ -136,6 +137,8 @@ def parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
         strict_parsing: flag indicating what to do with parsing errors.
             If false (the default), errors are silently ignored.
             If true, errors raise a ValueError exception.
+
+        separator: str. The symbol to use for separating the query arguments.
     """
     if fp is None:
         fp = sys.stdin
@@ -156,7 +159,7 @@ def parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
     if environ['REQUEST_METHOD'] == 'POST':
         ctype, pdict = parse_header(environ['CONTENT_TYPE'])
         if ctype == 'multipart/form-data':
-            return parse_multipart(fp, pdict)
+            return parse_multipart(fp, pdict, separator=separator)
         elif ctype == 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded':
             clength = int(environ['CONTENT_LENGTH'])
             if maxlen and clength > maxlen:
@@ -182,21 +185,21 @@ def parse(fp=None, environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
     return urllib.parse.parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing,
                                  encoding=encoding)
 
-
 # parse query string function called from urlparse,
 # this is done in order to maintain backward compatibility.
-
-def parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
+def parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0, separator=None):
     """Parse a query given as a string argument."""
     warn("cgi.parse_qs is deprecated, use urllib.parse.parse_qs instead",
          DeprecationWarning, 2)
-    return urllib.parse.parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing)
+    return urllib.parse.parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing,
+                                 separator=separator)
 
-def parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0):
+def parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0, separator=None):
     """Parse a query given as a string argument."""
     warn("cgi.parse_qsl is deprecated, use urllib.parse.parse_qsl instead",
          DeprecationWarning, 2)
-    return urllib.parse.parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing)
+    return urllib.parse.parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing,
+                                  separator=separator)
 
 def parse_multipart(fp, pdict):
     """Parse multipart input.
@@ -297,7 +300,6 @@ def parse_multipart(fp, pdict):
 
     return partdict
 
-
 def _parseparam(s):
     while s[:1] == ';':
         s = s[1:]
@@ -405,7 +407,7 @@ class FieldStorage:
     def __init__(self, fp=None, headers=None, outerboundary=b'',
                  environ=os.environ, keep_blank_values=0, strict_parsing=0,
                  limit=None, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace',
-                 max_num_fields=None):
+                 max_num_fields=None, separator=None):
         """Constructor.  Read multipart/* until last part.
 
         Arguments, all optional:
@@ -453,6 +455,7 @@ class FieldStorage:
         self.keep_blank_values = keep_blank_values
         self.strict_parsing = strict_parsing
         self.max_num_fields = max_num_fields
+        self.separator = separator
         if 'REQUEST_METHOD' in environ:
             method = environ['REQUEST_METHOD'].upper()
         self.qs_on_post = None
@@ -678,7 +681,7 @@ class FieldStorage:
         query = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(
             qs, self.keep_blank_values, self.strict_parsing,
             encoding=self.encoding, errors=self.errors,
-            max_num_fields=self.max_num_fields)
+            max_num_fields=self.max_num_fields, separator=self.separator)
         self.list = [MiniFieldStorage(key, value) for key, value in query]
         self.skip_lines()
 
@@ -694,7 +697,7 @@ class FieldStorage:
             query = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(
                 self.qs_on_post, self.keep_blank_values, self.strict_parsing,
                 encoding=self.encoding, errors=self.errors,
-                max_num_fields=self.max_num_fields)
+                max_num_fields=self.max_num_fields, separator=self.separator)
             self.list.extend(MiniFieldStorage(key, value) for key, value in query)
 
         klass = self.FieldStorageClass or self.__class__
@@ -736,7 +739,8 @@ class FieldStorage:
 
             part = klass(self.fp, headers, ib, environ, keep_blank_values,
                          strict_parsing,self.limit-self.bytes_read,
-                         self.encoding, self.errors, max_num_fields)
+                         self.encoding, self.errors, max_num_fields,
+                         separator=self.separator)
 
             if max_num_fields is not None:
                 max_num_fields -= 1
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_cgi.py b/Lib/test/test_cgi.py
index b3e2d4cce8e..5ae3e085e1e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_cgi.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_cgi.py
@@ -55,12 +55,9 @@ parse_strict_test_cases = [
     ("", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
     ("&", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
     ("&&", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
-    (";", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
-    (";&;", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
     # Should the next few really be valid?
     ("=", {}),
     ("=&=", {}),
-    ("=;=", {}),
     # This rest seem to make sense
     ("=a", {'': ['a']}),
     ("&=a", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
@@ -75,8 +72,6 @@ parse_strict_test_cases = [
     ("a=a+b&b=b+c", {'a': ['a b'], 'b': ['b c']}),
     ("a=a+b&a=b+a", {'a': ['a b', 'b a']}),
     ("x=1&y=2.0&z=2-3.%2b0", {'x': ['1'], 'y': ['2.0'], 'z': ['2-3.+0']}),
-    ("x=1;y=2.0&z=2-3.%2b0", {'x': ['1'], 'y': ['2.0'], 'z': ['2-3.+0']}),
-    ("x=1;y=2.0;z=2-3.%2b0", {'x': ['1'], 'y': ['2.0'], 'z': ['2-3.+0']}),
     ("Hbc5161168c542333633315dee1182227:key_store_seqid=400006&cuyer=r&view=bustomer&order_id=0bb2e248638833d48cb7fed300000f1b&expire=964546263&lobale=en-US&kid=130003.300038&ss=env",
      {'Hbc5161168c542333633315dee1182227:key_store_seqid': ['400006'],
       'cuyer': ['r'],
@@ -164,6 +159,35 @@ class CgiTests(unittest.TestCase):
 
             env = {'QUERY_STRING': orig}
             fs = cgi.FieldStorage(environ=env)
+            if isinstance(expect, dict):
+                # test dict interface
+                self.assertEqual(len(expect), len(fs))
+                self.assertCountEqual(expect.keys(), fs.keys())
+                self.assertEqual(fs.getvalue("nonexistent field", "default"), "default")
+                # test individual fields
+                for key in expect.keys():
+                    expect_val = expect[key]
+                    self.assertIn(key, fs)
+                    if len(expect_val) > 1:
+                        self.assertEqual(fs.getvalue(key), expect_val)
+                    else:
+                        self.assertEqual(fs.getvalue(key), expect_val[0])
+
+    def test_separator(self):
+        parse_semicolon = [
+            ("x=1;y=2.0", {'x': ['1'], 'y': ['2.0']}),
+            ("x=1;y=2.0;z=2-3.%2b0", {'x': ['1'], 'y': ['2.0'], 'z': ['2-3.+0']}),
+            (";", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
+            (";;", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
+            ("=;a", ValueError("bad query field: 'a'")),
+            (";b=a", ValueError("bad query field: ''")),
+            ("b;=a", ValueError("bad query field: 'b'")),
+            ("a=a+b;b=b+c", {'a': ['a b'], 'b': ['b c']}),
+            ("a=a+b;a=b+a", {'a': ['a b', 'b a']}),
+        ]
+        for orig, expect in parse_semicolon:
+            env = {'QUERY_STRING': orig}
+            fs = cgi.FieldStorage(separator=';', environ=env)
             if isinstance(expect, dict):
                 # test dict interface
                 self.assertEqual(len(expect), len(fs))
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_urlparse.py b/Lib/test/test_urlparse.py
index 68f633ca3a7..1ec86ba0fc2 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_urlparse.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_urlparse.py
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@ import sys
 import unicodedata
 import unittest
 import urllib.parse
+from test.support import EnvironmentVarGuard
+from warnings import catch_warnings
+import tempfile
+import contextlib
+import os.path
 
 RFC1808_BASE = "http://a/b/c/d;p?q#f"
 RFC2396_BASE = "http://a/b/c/d;p?q"
@@ -32,6 +37,9 @@ parse_qsl_test_cases = [
     (b"&a=b", [(b'a', b'b')]),
     (b"a=a+b&b=b+c", [(b'a', b'a b'), (b'b', b'b c')]),
     (b"a=1&a=2", [(b'a', b'1'), (b'a', b'2')]),
+]
+
+parse_qsl_test_cases_semicolon = [
     (";", []),
     (";;", []),
     (";a=b", [('a', 'b')]),
@@ -44,6 +52,21 @@ parse_qsl_test_cases = [
     (b"a=1;a=2", [(b'a', b'1'), (b'a', b'2')]),
 ]
 
+parse_qsl_test_cases_legacy = [
+    (b"a=1;a=2&a=3", [(b'a', b'1'), (b'a', b'2'), (b'a', b'3')]),
+    (b"a=1;b=2&c=3", [(b'a', b'1'), (b'b', b'2'), (b'c', b'3')]),
+    (b"a=1&b=2&c=3;", [(b'a', b'1'), (b'b', b'2'), (b'c', b'3')]),
+]
+
+parse_qsl_test_cases_warn = [
+    (";a=b", [(';a', 'b')]),
+    ("a=a+b;b=b+c", [('a', 'a b;b=b c')]),
+    (b";a=b", [(b';a', b'b')]),
+    (b"a=a+b;b=b+c", [(b'a', b'a b;b=b c')]),
+    ("a=1;a=2&a=3", [('a', '1;a=2'), ('a', '3')]),
+    (b"a=1;a=2&a=3", [(b'a', b'1;a=2'), (b'a', b'3')]),
+]
+
 # Each parse_qs testcase is a two-tuple that contains
 # a string with the query and a dictionary with the expected result.
 
@@ -68,6 +91,9 @@ parse_qs_test_cases = [
     (b"&a=b", {b'a': [b'b']}),
     (b"a=a+b&b=b+c", {b'a': [b'a b'], b'b': [b'b c']}),
     (b"a=1&a=2", {b'a': [b'1', b'2']}),
+]
+
+parse_qs_test_cases_semicolon = [
     (";", {}),
     (";;", {}),
     (";a=b", {'a': ['b']}),
@@ -80,6 +106,24 @@ parse_qs_test_cases = [
     (b"a=1;a=2", {b'a': [b'1', b'2']}),
 ]
 
+parse_qs_test_cases_legacy = [
+    ("a=1;a=2&a=3", {'a': ['1', '2', '3']}),
+    ("a=1;b=2&c=3", {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2'], 'c': ['3']}),
+    ("a=1&b=2&c=3;", {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2'], 'c': ['3']}),
+    (b"a=1;a=2&a=3", {b'a': [b'1', b'2', b'3']}),
+    (b"a=1;b=2&c=3", {b'a': [b'1'], b'b': [b'2'], b'c': [b'3']}),
+    (b"a=1&b=2&c=3;", {b'a': [b'1'], b'b': [b'2'], b'c': [b'3']}),
+]
+
+parse_qs_test_cases_warn = [
+    (";a=b", {';a': ['b']}),
+    ("a=a+b;b=b+c", {'a': ['a b;b=b c']}),
+    (b";a=b", {b';a': [b'b']}),
+    (b"a=a+b;b=b+c", {b'a':[ b'a b;b=b c']}),
+    ("a=1;a=2&a=3", {'a': ['1;a=2', '3']}),
+    (b"a=1;a=2&a=3", {b'a': [b'1;a=2', b'3']}),
+]
+
 class UrlParseTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def checkRoundtrips(self, url, parsed, split):
@@ -152,6 +196,40 @@ class UrlParseTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertEqual(result, expect_without_blanks,
                             "Error parsing %r" % orig)
 
+    def test_qs_default_warn(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qs_test_cases_warn:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect):
+                with catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig, keep_blank_values=True)
+                    self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 1)
+                self.assertEqual(w[0].category, urllib.parse._QueryStringSeparatorWarning)
+
+    def test_qsl_default_warn(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qsl_test_cases_warn:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect):
+                with catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig, keep_blank_values=True)
+                    self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 1)
+                self.assertEqual(w[0].category, urllib.parse._QueryStringSeparatorWarning)
+
+    def test_default_qs_no_warnings(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qs_test_cases:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect):
+                with catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig, keep_blank_values=True)
+                    self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
+    def test_default_qsl_no_warnings(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qsl_test_cases:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect):
+                with catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig, keep_blank_values=True)
+                    self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
     def test_roundtrips(self):
         str_cases = [
             ('file:///tmp/junk.txt',
@@ -885,8 +963,151 @@ class UrlParseTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
             urllib.parse.parse_qs('&'.join(['a=a']*11), max_num_fields=10)
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
-            urllib.parse.parse_qs(';'.join(['a=a']*11), max_num_fields=10)
+            urllib.parse.parse_qs(';'.join(['a=a']*11), separator=';', max_num_fields=10)
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            urllib.parse.parse_qs('SEP'.join(['a=a']*11), separator='SEP', max_num_fields=10)
         urllib.parse.parse_qs('&'.join(['a=a']*10), max_num_fields=10)
+        urllib.parse.parse_qs(';'.join(['a=a']*10), separator=';', max_num_fields=10)
+        urllib.parse.parse_qs('SEP'.join(['a=a']*10), separator='SEP', max_num_fields=10)
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_bytes(self):
+        expected = {b'a': [b'1'], b'b': [b'2']}
+
+        result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(b'a=1;b=2', separator=b';')
+        self.assertEqual(result, expected)
+        result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(b'a=1;b=2', separator=';')
+        self.assertEqual(result, expected)
+        result = urllib.parse.parse_qs('a=1;b=2', separator=';')
+        self.assertEqual(result, {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2']})
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def _qsl_sep_config(self, sep):
+        """Context for the given parse_qsl default separator configured in config file"""
+        old_filename = urllib.parse._QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME
+        urllib.parse._default_qs_separator = None
+        try:
+            with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdirname:
+                filename = os.path.join(tmpdirname, 'conf.cfg')
+                with open(filename, 'w') as file:
+                    file.write(f'[parse_qs]\n')
+                    file.write(f'PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR = {sep}')
+                urllib.parse._QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME = filename
+                yield
+        finally:
+            urllib.parse._QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME = old_filename
+            urllib.parse._default_qs_separator = None
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_semicolon(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qs_test_cases_semicolon:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='arg'):
+                result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig, separator=';')
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='env'):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = ';'
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='conf'):
+                with self._qsl_sep_config(';'), catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
+    def test_parse_qsl_separator_semicolon(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qsl_test_cases_semicolon:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='arg'):
+                result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig, separator=';')
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='env'):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = ';'
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='conf'):
+                with self._qsl_sep_config(';'), catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_legacy(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qs_test_cases_legacy:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='env'):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = 'legacy'
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='conf'):
+                with self._qsl_sep_config('legacy'), catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qs(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
+    def test_parse_qsl_separator_legacy(self):
+        for orig, expect in parse_qsl_test_cases_legacy:
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='env'):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = 'legacy'
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+            with self.subTest(orig=orig, expect=expect, method='conf'):
+                with self._qsl_sep_config('legacy'), catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    result = urllib.parse.parse_qsl(orig)
+                self.assertEqual(result, expect, "Error parsing %r" % orig)
+                self.assertEqual(len(w), 0)
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_bad_value_env_or_config(self):
+        for bad_sep in '', 'abc', 'safe', '&;', 'SEP':
+            with self.subTest(bad_sep, method='env'):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = bad_sep
+                    with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                        urllib.parse.parse_qsl('a=1;b=2')
+            with self.subTest(bad_sep, method='conf'):
+                with self._qsl_sep_config('bad_sep'), catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                        urllib.parse.parse_qsl('a=1;b=2')
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_bad_value_arg(self):
+        for bad_sep in True, {}, '':
+            with self.subTest(bad_sep):
+                with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                    urllib.parse.parse_qsl('a=1;b=2', separator=bad_sep)
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_num_fields(self):
+        for qs, sep in (
+            ('a&b&c', '&'),
+            ('a;b;c', ';'),
+            ('a&b;c', 'legacy'),
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(qs=qs, sep=sep):
+                with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ, catch_warnings(record=True) as w:
+                    if sep != 'legacy':
+                        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                            urllib.parse.parse_qsl(qs, separator=sep, max_num_fields=2)
+                    if sep:
+                        environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = sep
+                    with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+                        urllib.parse.parse_qsl(qs, max_num_fields=2)
+
+    def test_parse_qs_separator_priority(self):
+        # env variable trumps config file
+        with self._qsl_sep_config('~'), EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ:
+            environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = '!'
+            result = urllib.parse.parse_qs('a=1!b=2~c=3')
+            self.assertEqual(result, {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2~c=3']})
+        # argument trumps config file
+        with self._qsl_sep_config('~'):
+            result = urllib.parse.parse_qs('a=1$b=2~c=3', separator='$')
+            self.assertEqual(result, {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2~c=3']})
+        # argument trumps env variable
+        with EnvironmentVarGuard() as environ:
+            environ['PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'] = '~'
+            result = urllib.parse.parse_qs('a=1$b=2~c=3', separator='$')
+            self.assertEqual(result, {'a': ['1'], 'b': ['2~c=3']})
 
     def test_urlencode_sequences(self):
         # Other tests incidentally urlencode things; test non-covered cases:
diff --git a/Lib/urllib/parse.py b/Lib/urllib/parse.py
index fa8827a9fa7..57b8fcf8bbd 100644
--- a/Lib/urllib/parse.py
+++ b/Lib/urllib/parse.py
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ test_urlparse.py provides a good indicator of parsing behavior.
 """
 
 import re
+import os
 import sys
 import collections
 
@@ -644,7 +645,8 @@ def unquote(string, encoding='utf-8', errors='replace'):
 
 
 def parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False,
-             encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None):
+             encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None,
+             separator=None):
     """Parse a query given as a string argument.
 
         Arguments:
@@ -673,7 +675,8 @@ def parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False,
     parsed_result = {}
     pairs = parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values, strict_parsing,
                       encoding=encoding, errors=errors,
-                      max_num_fields=max_num_fields)
+                      max_num_fields=max_num_fields,
+                      separator=separator)
     for name, value in pairs:
         if name in parsed_result:
             parsed_result[name].append(value)
@@ -681,9 +684,16 @@ def parse_qs(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False,
             parsed_result[name] = [value]
     return parsed_result
 
+class _QueryStringSeparatorWarning(RuntimeWarning):
+    """Warning for using default `separator` in parse_qs or parse_qsl"""
+
+# The default "separator" for parse_qsl can be specified in a config file.
+# It's cached after first read.
+_QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME = '/etc/python/urllib.cfg'
+_default_qs_separator = None
 
 def parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False,
-              encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None):
+              encoding='utf-8', errors='replace', max_num_fields=None, separator=None):
     """Parse a query given as a string argument.
 
         Arguments:
@@ -710,15 +720,77 @@ def parse_qsl(qs, keep_blank_values=False, strict_parsing=False,
     """
     qs, _coerce_result = _coerce_args(qs)
 
+    if isinstance(separator, bytes):
+        separator = separator.decode('ascii')
+
+    if (not separator or (not isinstance(separator, (str, bytes)))) and separator is not None:
+        raise ValueError("Separator must be of type string or bytes.")
+
+    # Used when both "&" and ";" act as separators. (Need a non-string value.)
+    _legacy = object()
+
+    if separator is None:
+        global _default_qs_separator
+        separator = _default_qs_separator
+        envvar_name = 'PYTHON_URLLIB_QS_SEPARATOR'
+        if separator is None:
+            # Set default separator from environment variable
+            separator = os.environ.get(envvar_name)
+            config_source = 'environment variable'
+        if separator is None:
+            # Set default separator from the configuration file
+            try:
+                file = open(_QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME)
+            except FileNotFoundError:
+                pass
+            else:
+                with file:
+                    import configparser
+                    config = configparser.ConfigParser(
+                        interpolation=None,
+                        comment_prefixes=('#', ),
+                    )
+                    config.read_file(file)
+                    separator = config.get('parse_qs', envvar_name, fallback=None)
+                    _default_qs_separator = separator
+                config_source = _QS_SEPARATOR_CONFIG_FILENAME
+        if separator is None:
+            # The default is '&', but warn if not specified explicitly
+            if ';' in qs:
+                from warnings import warn
+                warn("The default separator of urllib.parse.parse_qsl and "
+                    + "parse_qs was changed to '&' to avoid a web cache "
+                    + "poisoning issue (CVE-2021-23336). "
+                    + "By default, semicolons no longer act as query field "
+                    + "separators. "
+                    + "See https://access.redhat.com/articles/5860431 for "
+                    + "more details.",
+                    _QueryStringSeparatorWarning, stacklevel=2)
+            separator = '&'
+        elif separator == 'legacy':
+            separator = _legacy
+        elif len(separator) != 1:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f'{envvar_name} (from {config_source}) must contain '
+                + '1 character, or "legacy". See '
+                + 'https://access.redhat.com/articles/5860431 for more details.'
+            )
+
     # If max_num_fields is defined then check that the number of fields
     # is less than max_num_fields. This prevents a memory exhaustion DOS
     # attack via post bodies with many fields.
     if max_num_fields is not None:
-        num_fields = 1 + qs.count('&') + qs.count(';')
+        if separator is _legacy:
+            num_fields = 1 + qs.count('&') + qs.count(';')
+        else:
+            num_fields = 1 + qs.count(separator)
         if max_num_fields < num_fields:
             raise ValueError('Max number of fields exceeded')
 
-    pairs = [s2 for s1 in qs.split('&') for s2 in s1.split(';')]
+    if separator is _legacy:
+        pairs = [s2 for s1 in qs.split('&') for s2 in s1.split(';')]
+    else:
+        pairs = [s1 for s1 in qs.split(separator)]
     r = []
     for name_value in pairs:
         if not name_value and not strict_parsing:
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Security/2021-02-14-15-59-16.bpo-42967.YApqDS.rst b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Security/2021-02-14-15-59-16.bpo-42967.YApqDS.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bc82c963067
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Misc/NEWS.d/next/Security/2021-02-14-15-59-16.bpo-42967.YApqDS.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Make it possible to fix web cache poisoning vulnerability by allowing the user to choose a custom separator query args.