MEDIUM · 5.9

CVE-2026-42766

Issue summary: A specially crafted password-encrypted CMS message can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during CMS decryption. Impact summary: This NULL pointer dereference leads to an application c...

Vulnerability Description

Issue summary: A specially crafted password-encrypted CMS message can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during CMS decryption. Impact summary: This NULL pointer dereference leads to an application crash and a Denial of Service. The CMS PasswordRecipientInfo.keyDerivationAlgorithm field is defined as OPTIONAL in the ASN.1 specification and may therefore be absent in specially crafted inputs. During the password-based CMS decryption the OpenSSL CMS implementation dereferences this field without first checking whether it was present. An attacker who supplies such a CMS message to an application performing password-based CMS decryption can trigger an application crash, leading to a Denial of Service. Applications that process password-encrypted CMS messages may be affected. The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the affected code is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

CVSS Score

5.9

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
HIGH
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH

Affected Products

VendorProductVersions
OpensslOpenssl>= 1.0.2, < 1.0.2zq

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

References

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-42766?

CVE-2026-42766 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.9 (MEDIUM). Issue summary: A specially crafted password-encrypted CMS message can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during CMS decryption. Impact summary: This NULL pointer dereference leads to an application c...

How severe is CVE-2026-42766?

CVE-2026-42766 has been rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 5.9/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.

Is there a patch for CVE-2026-42766?

Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Openssl Openssl.