Buffer overflow in OpenSSL
CVE-2026-63072
Issue summary: OpenSSL CMS decryption sizes the key-unwrap output buffer based on querying the unwrapped key size, but the AES-WRAP-PAD unwrap primitive can write and cleanse more bytes than that query reports, causing an 8-byte out-of-bounds heap write. Impact summary: An attacker who supplies a crafted CMS message can trigger a deterministic 8-byte out-of-bounds heap write when the victim decrypts it with CMS_decrypt(), corrupting the heap and typically resulting in a Denial of Service. CWE: CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write Description: The key-wrap OID is potentially attacker-controlled on the wire. CMS unwrapping allows both id-aesNNN-wrap-pad and id-aesNNN-wrap ciphers. An attacker can take a legitimate message and change a single OID byte to select the padded variant while leaving the message otherwise valid. Since the unwrap key is derived from the recipient's private operation (ECDH key agreement or ML-KEM decapsulation), the RFC 5649 integrity check cannot pass, and the decryption fails with integrity failure. The write is a fixed-size (8-byte), fixed-value (zero) heap overflow immediately past the allocation, requires no special configuration, and is reachable from the public CMS_decrypt() function. The consequence is a heap corruption leading to a Denial of Service. The fix in the CMS code sizes the unwrap output buffer for the worst case so a failed unwrap cannot write past the allocation. FIPS impact: no As the CMS code lives outside the FIPS module boundary, no FIPS modules are affected by this CVE.
Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow
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.
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- openssl-security@openssl.org (patch)
- openssl-security@openssl.org (patch)
- openssl-security@openssl.org (patch)
- openssl-security@openssl.org (patch)
- openssl-security@openssl.org (patch)
- openssl-security@openssl.org (vendor-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-63072?
- CVE-2026-63072 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenSSL, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-08-25.
- How severe is CVE-2026-63072?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.