Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain legitimate leaf certificate from trusted CA
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DeliveryConstruct forged certificate with untrusted intermediate CA:FALSE
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ExploitSupply crafted chain to wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert
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ExecutionBypass signature validation
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ImpactReturn success and grant unauthorized access
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V12 - Secure Communication Certificate validation
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Requires authenticated access (PR:L) to applications using wolfSSL's OpenSSL compatibility layer function wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert. Attacker must supply crafted certificate chain with untrusted intermediate (CA:FALSE) signed by trusted root. Native wolfSSL TLS handshake (ProcessPeerCerts) unaffected. |
| Impact | CVSS 8.6 reflects high confidentiality/integrity impact via authenticated network access. Moderate observed exploitation activity. Critical for nginx/haproxy deployments using wolfSSL's OpenSSL compatibility layer directly; native TLS handshake unaffected. Requires valid leaf certificate from trusted CA and authenticated session, limiting blast radius to environments with certificate-based authentication enabled. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | Attacker obtains legitimate leaf certificate from trusted CA (e.g., Let's Encrypt). Supplies forged certificate chain with untrusted intermediate (CA:FALSE, validly signed by root) to application calling wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert. Function incorrectly returns success without validating leaf signature, allowing arbitrary subject name/public key impersonation. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Apr 10, 2026
Certificate chain validation bypass in wolfSSL's OpenSSL compatibility layer allows authenticated network attackers to forge arbitrary certificates. Attackers possessing any legitimate leaf certificate from a trusted CA can craft fraudulent certificates for any subject name with arbitrary keys, bypassing signature verification when an untrusted CA:FALSE intermediate is inserted. Affects nginx and haproxy integrations using wolfSSL's OpenSSL compatibility API; native wolfSSL TLS handshake (ProcessPeerCerts) not vulnerable. No public exploit identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Upstream fix available (PR/commit); released patched version not independently confirmed. Review vendor advisory and apply patch from https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102 when released version becomes available. Organizations unable to patch immediately should migrate affected nginx/haproxy instances to native wolfSSL TLS handshake paths (ProcessPeerCerts) which are not vulnerable, or temporarily replace wolfSSL with alternative TLS libraries (OpenSSL, BoringSSL) until patched release confirmed. Audit certificate validation workflows in custom applications using wolfSSL OpenSSL compatibility layer. Monitor wolfSSL security advisories for official patched version announcement and upgrade guidance.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Root cause: wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert (CWE-295) fails to validate leaf certificate signature when chain contains untrusted intermediate marked Basic Constraints CA:FALSE but legitimately signed by trusted root. Native wolfSSL validation logic correctly enforces signature checks; vulnerability isolated to OpenSSL compatibility shim layer consuming cpe:2.3:a:wolfssl:wolfssl chains.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionCVE.org
wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert in the OpenSSL compatibility layer accepts a certificate chain in which the leaf's signature is not checked, if the attacker supplies an untrusted intermediate with Basic Constraints CA:FALSE that is legitimately signed by a trusted root. An attacker who obtains any leaf certificate from a trusted CA (e.g. a free DV cert from Let's Encrypt) can forge a certificate for any subject name with any public key and arbitrary signature bytes, and the function returns WOLFSSL_SUCCESS / X509_V_OK. The native wolfSSL TLS handshake path (ProcessPeerCerts) is not susceptible and the issue is limited to applications using the OpenSSL compatibility API directly, which would include integrations of wolfSSL into nginx and haproxy.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-5501 is a certificate chain validation bypass in wolfSSL's OpenSSL compatibility layer affecting nginx and HAProxy deployments, allowing authenticated attackers with any legitimate certificate to forge certificates for arbitrary domains and bypass signature verification. Organizations using these web servers with wolfSSL should immediately assess exposure, as this vulnerability directly undermines TLS authentication trust and could enable man-in-the-middle attacks and credential theft without detection.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Restrict authentication to trusted internal networks only; (2) disable OpenSSL compatibility layer in wolfSSL configuration and use native wolfSSL TLS handshake (ProcessPeerCerts) if compatible with nginx/HAProxy version; (3) migrate affected web servers to standard OpenSSL until patch availability; (4) increase monitoring of certificate validation failures and unusual certificate issuance events; (5) implement mTLS with client certificate pinning to limit exposure.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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