Calls to EVP_CipherUpdate, EVP_EncryptUpdate and EVP_DecryptUpdate may overflow the output length argument in some cases where the input length is close to the maximum permissable length for an integer on the platform. In such cases the return value from the function call will be 1 (indicating success), but the output length value will be negative. This could cause applications to behave incorrectly or crash. OpenSSL versions 1.1.1i and below are affected by this issue. Users of these versions should upgrade to OpenSSL 1.1.1j. OpenSSL versions 1.0.2x and below are affected by this issue. However OpenSSL 1.0.2 is out of support and no longer receiving public updates. Premium support customers of OpenSSL 1.0.2 should upgrade to 1.0.2y. Other users should upgrade to 1.1.1j. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1j (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1i). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2y (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2x).
CVE-2021-23840
This high-severity CVE scores 7.5 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.5%, top 33% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 51%
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 7.5
- EG Score
- 7.5(medium)
- EPSS
- 98.8%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
February 16, 2021
Last Modified
April 16, 2026
References (40)
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-389290.pdf
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=6a51b9e1d0cf0bf8515f7201b68fb0a3482b3dc1
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=9b1129239f3ebb1d1c98ce9ed41d5c9476c47cb2
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44846
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10366
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r58af02e294bd07f487e2c64ffc0a29b837db5600e33b6e698b9d696b%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rf4c02775860db415b4955778a131c2795223f61cb8c6a450893651e4%40%3Cissues.bookkeeper.apache.org%3E
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202103-03
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210219-0009/
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0006/
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4855
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20210216.txt
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- openssl-security@opensslhttps://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.html
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2021-23840(4)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- RHSA-2021:4614Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP10 security update
- RHSA-2021:4613Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP10 security update
- RHSA-2021:3798Red Hat Product SecurityMedium
Red Hat Security Advisory: openssl security update
- RHSA-2021:1168Red Hat Product SecurityHigh
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management 2.2.2 security and bug fix update
Patch Availability(10)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | openssl (1.0.2g-1ubuntu4.19) @ xenial | 2026-05-22 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | openssl (1.0.1f-1ubuntu2.27+esm10) @ trusty | 2026-05-22 | ubuntu |
| ubuntu | ovmf (2020.11-4ubuntu0.1) @ hirsute | 2026-05-22 | ubuntu |
| redhat | patch | 2021-11-30 | redhat |
| redhat | jws5-tomcat-vault-0:1.1.8-4.Final_redhat_00004.1.el8jws | 2021-11-30 | redhat |
| redhat | openssl | 2021-11-10 | redhat |
| redhat | jbcs-httpd24-openssl-pkcs11-0:0.4.10-22.jbcs.el7 | 2021-11-10 | redhat |
| redhat | openssl-1:1.1.1k-4.el8 | 2021-11-09 | redhat |
| redhat | edk2-0:20210527gite1999b264f1f-3.el8 | 2021-11-09 | redhat |
| redhat | openssl-1:1.0.2k-22.el7_9 | 2021-10-12 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Affected Packages
(1 across 1 ecosystem)
crates.io(1)
| Package | Vulnerable range | Fixed in | Dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| openssl-src | — | 111.14.0 | — |
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(8)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
- Microsoft MSRCCVE-2021-238402025-09-04
Integer overflow in CipherUpdate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4198MODERATE2021-02-16
RHSA-2021:4198 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4424MODERATE2021-02-16
RHSA-2021:4424 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4861MODERATE2021-02-16
RHSA-2021:4861 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2021:4863MODERATE2021-02-16
RHSA-2021:4863 — Moderate
- UbuntuUSN-4738-1LOW
OpenSSL vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-5088-1LOW
EDK II vulnerabilities
- UbuntuUSN-7018-1LOW
OpenSSL vulnerabilities
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 4× in last 7d / 30× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 109 total refreshes for this CVE.
- 2026-07-11 13:22 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-07-11 08:25 UTCEPSS rescore
- 2026-07-09 19:07 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-22 19:35 UTCOSV refresh
- 2026-06-21 01:58 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-15 17:46 UTCEPSS rescore
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- 2026-06-05 10:00 UTCOSV refresh
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- 2026-05-22 06:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-22 06:48 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-05-21 22:41 UTCEPSS rescore
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- CVE-2013-2596NVD 7.8EG 9.0 KEVHIGH
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2021-23840?
When was CVE-2021-23840 disclosed?
Is CVE-2021-23840 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-23840?
How do I remediate CVE-2021-23840?
Dependency Blast Radius
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