Issue summary: An invalid or NULL pointer dereference can happen in
an application processing a malformed PKCS#12 file.
Impact summary: An application processing a malformed PKCS#12 file can be
caused to dereference an invalid or NULL pointer on memory read, resulting
in a Denial of Service.
A type confusion vulnerability exists in PKCS#12 parsing code where
an ASN1_TYPE union member is accessed without first validating the type,
causing an invalid pointer read.
The location is constrained to a 1-byte address space, meaning any
attempted pointer manipulation can only target addresses between 0x00 and 0xFF.
This range corresponds to the zero page, which is unmapped on most modern
operating systems and will reliably result in a crash, leading only to a
Denial of Service. Exploiting this issue also requires a user or application
to process a maliciously crafted PKCS#12 file. It is uncommon to accept
untrusted PKCS#12 files in applications as they are usually used to store
private keys which are trusted by definition. For these reasons, the issue
was assessed as Low severity.
The FIPS modules in 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue,
as the PKCS12 implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0 and 1.1.1 are vulnerable to this issue.
OpenSSL 1.0.2 is not affected by this issue.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it