Out-of-bounds Read in Open-Quantum-Safe Liboqs

CVE-2026-104254

liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. From 0.11.0 through 0.16.0, builds configured with OQS_ENABLE_SIG_STFL_LMS=ON can read beyond a caller-supplied signature buffer when an untrusted truncated LMS or HSS-LMS signature reaches OQS_SIG_STFL_verify or OQS_SIG_STFL_alg_lms_verify. In hss_validate_signature_init() in src/sig_stfl/lms/external/hss_verify_inc.c, consumed-length checks do not ensure that the bottom-level q and C fields remain available, allowing up to 32 bytes to be read past the buffer. In version 0.16.0, is_hss_public_key() also reads at offset 8 after only a four-byte length check, allowing an over-read of up to eight bytes. No valid signature is required, but the public key must be syntactically plausible. The read data is consumed only by an internal hash and is not exposed, so the supported impact is a possible verifier crash and denial of service, not memory disclosure or acceptance of an invalid signature. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in version 0.17.0.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2026-11-06.