Issue summary: PBMAC1 parameters in PKCS#12 files are missing validation which can trigger a stack-based buffer overflow, invalid pointer or NULL pointer dereference during MAC verification. Impact summary: The stack buffer overflow or NULL pointer dereference may cause a crash leading to Denial of Service for an application that parses untrusted PKCS#12 files. The buffer overflow may also potentially enable code execution depending on platform mitigations. When verifying a PKCS#12 file that uses PBMAC1 for the MAC, the PBKDF2 salt and keylength parameters from the file are used without validation. If the value of keylength exceeds the size of the fixed stack buffer used for the derived key (64 bytes), the key derivation will overflow the buffer. The overflow length is attacker-controlled. Also, if the salt parameter is not an OCTET STRING type this can lead to invalid or NULL pointer dereference. Exploiting this issue 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 this reason the issue was assessed as Moderate severity. The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5 and 3.4 are not affected by this issue, as PKCS#12 processing is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary. OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5 and 3.4 are vulnerable to this issue. OpenSSL 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are not affected by this issue as they do not support PBMAC1 in PKCS#12.
This vulnerability carries a MEDIUM severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.1, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, limited integrity, and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from openssl organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2026, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2026-01-27T16:16:14.093
2026-06-17T08:29:49.083
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 6.1 (MEDIUM)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | openssl | openssl | < 3.4.4 | Yes |
| Application | openssl | openssl | < 3.5.5 | Yes |
| Application | openssl | openssl | < 3.6.1 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For openssl's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.