Out-of-bounds Read in OpenSSL
CVE-2025-9230
Issue summary: An application trying to decrypt CMS messages encrypted using password based encryption can trigger an out-of-bounds read and write. Impact summary: This out-of-bounds read may trigger a crash which leads to Denial of Service for an application. The out-of-bounds write can cause a memory corruption which can have various consequences including a Denial of Service or Execution of attacker-supplied code. Although the consequences of a successful exploit of this vulnerability could be severe, the probability that the attacker would be able to perform it is low. Besides, password based (PWRI) encryption support in CMS messages is very rarely used. For that reason the issue was assessed as Moderate severity according to our Security Policy. The FIPS modules in 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.2, 3.1 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the CMS implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.016 (74.2th percentile), scored .
Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 74th percentile — 74.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.015 · newest: 0.016 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- OpenSSL — versions 3.5.0, 3.4.0, 3.3.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20250930.txt (vendor-advisory)
- github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/bae259a211ada6315dc50900686daaaaaa55f482 (patch)
- github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/9e91358f365dee6c446dcdcdb01c04d2743fd280 (patch)
- github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/5965ea5dd6960f36d8b7f74f8eac67a8eb8f2b45 (patch)
- github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/b5282d677551afda7d20e9c00e09561b547b2dfd (patch)
- github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/a79c4ce559c6a3a8fd4109e9f33c1185d5bf2def (patch)
- github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/dfbaf161d8dafc1132dd88cd48a… (patch)
- github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/c2b96348bfa662f25f4fabf8195… (patch)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-9230?
- CVE-2025-9230 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSL, classified under Out-of-bounds Read. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2025-09-30.
- How severe is CVE-2025-9230?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-9230 known to be exploited?
- 8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.