Skip to main content

OpenSSL EUVDEUVD-2026-65488

| CVE-2026-75803 CRITICAL
Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value (CWE-354)
2026-08-25 vendor:ubuntu GHSA-vr27-9w4v-hjw2
Critical
Disputed · 9.1 Vendor: vendor:ubuntu
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Position in AEAD message path
  2. Delivery
    Craft empty ciphertext with forged tag
  3. Exploit
    EVP_Cipher() skips tag verification
  4. Execution
    Forged message accepted as authentic
  5. Impact
    Integrity/authentication bypass

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Integrity verification
Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the target application to use OpenSSL's low-level EVP_Cipher() API with an AEAD cipher - specifically AES-OCB or ChaCha20-Poly1305 - where a zero-length input is passed and the tag is expected to be generated/verified implicitly. What limits exploitation: applications using the standard EVP_EncryptUpdate/EVP_DecryptFinal flow with explicit tag handling are not affected, and the attack is a forgery of empty-ciphertext messages, so its practical value depends on the surrounding protocol accepting empty authenticated payloads. The attacker must be able to inject or alter AEAD messages in the protocol's data path.

Impact

The input CVSS 9.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/C:H/I:H/A:N) rates this critical, but the signals are mixed. The real impact is an integrity/authenticity break (AEAD forgery), so C:H is questionable - a forgery of an empty message primarily undermines integrity, not confidentiality, and the input 'Information Disclosure' tag conflicts with CWE-354. EPSS is very low (0.12%, 2nd percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing and no public exploit identified, indicating no evidence of active or widespread exploitation. Exploitability is also conditioned on the application using the specific low-level EVP_Cipher() path with the affected AEAD ciphers, which narrows real-world reach despite OpenSSL's ubiquity. Net: a genuine correctness/security defect worth patching in normal cycles, but not an emergency drop-everything issue for most deployments; verify whether your software actually calls EVP_Cipher() before assessing exposure.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker positioned to supply or tamper with AEAD-protected messages to an application built on the vulnerable EVP_Cipher() path submits a message with empty ciphertext and a bogus/absent tag; the library returns success without verifying integrity, so the forged 'authenticated' empty message is accepted as genuine. This could let an attacker spoof authenticated empty payloads or bypass integrity checks in a custom protocol that relies on OpenSSL AEAD. No public proof-of-concept is identified at time of analysis.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv2 – Sep 01, 2026

AEAD authentication bypass in OpenSSL 3.0-4.0 lets attackers forge valid empty-ciphertext/tag pairs when applications encrypt or decrypt via the low-level EVP_Cipher() path with AES-OCB or ChaCha20-Poly1305. A zero-length cipher update was short-circuited to return success without producing or verifying the authentication tag, breaking the integrity guarantee that AEAD is supposed to provide. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis and EPSS is low (0.12%), but the flaw is confirmed and patched by the OpenSSL project and Ubuntu.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Aug 25, 2026 - 10:39

AEAD authentication tag forgery in OpenSSL's EVP_Cipher() API enables an attacker to produce a cryptographically valid authentication tag for an empty ciphertext without knowledge of the secret key, bypassing the integrity and authenticity guarantees of AEAD cipher modes such as AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305. Any application invoking EVP_Cipher() with an AEAD mode and processing empty or zero-length ciphertexts is affected. No public exploit and no CISA KEV listing have been identified at time of analysis, though the cryptographic impact - silent acceptance of forged messages - is severe for systems relying on AEAD for data authenticity.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade OpenSSL to 3.0.22, 3.4.7, 3.5.8, 3.6.4, or 4.0.2 (or later) matching your branch, per the OpenSSL advisory (https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txt) and Ubuntu USN-8678-1 (https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8678-1). Distro users should apply the packaged libssl/libcrypto updates and restart services that link OpenSSL. If you cannot patch immediately, the specific compensating control is to avoid the low-level EVP_Cipher() one-shot API for AEAD ciphers and instead use the EVP_EncryptUpdate/EVP_DecryptUpdate + EVP_EncryptFinal/EVP_DecryptFinal sequence with explicit tag set/get (EVP_CTRL_AEAD_GET_TAG/SET_TAG), which forces tag generation and verification; the trade-off is a code change in affected applications rather than a config toggle, and it only helps software you control. There is no runtime flag to disable the bug, so patching the library is the reliable fix.

Affected VersionsENISA

OpenSSL 3.0.0 <3.0.22
OpenSSL 3.6.0 <3.6.4
OpenSSL 3.5.0 <3.5.8
OpenSSL 4.0.0 <4.0.2
OpenSSL 3.4.0 <3.4.7

Affected Packages

euvd openssl fix: 3.0.22, 3.4.7, 3.5.8, 3.6.4, 4.0.2

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

OpenSSL is the near-universal TLS/cryptography library. This defect lives in the FIPS/default provider AEAD cipher implementations - cipher_aes_ocb.c (AES-OCB) and cipher_chacha20_poly1305.c (ChaCha20-Poly1305). AEAD (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data) ciphers must emit and verify a MAC/tag over the ciphertext and AAD; CWE-354 (Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value) is the root-cause class. The code treated an update call with inl==0 as a benign no-op returning 1 (success) without generating or checking the tag. The fix routes NULL/zero-length input to the Final path so the tag is always produced or verified (commits 119ab95, 3621257, 6c7aa6f, bdeb0cd, bf95f5f), and adds an ossl_prov_is_running() guard. This specifically affects code using the one-shot/low-level EVP_Cipher() API rather than the EVP_EncryptUpdate/EVP_DecryptFinal sequence.

Know when OpenSSL gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

Sources disagree (Low–Critical)
Vendor (vendor:ubuntu) PRIMARY 9.1 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

AEAD empty-ciphertext forgery is a network-reachable integrity/authenticity break (I:H); confidentiality is not actually compromised (C:N) and there is no availability impact (A:N).

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 5.3 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Red Hat 3.7 LOW

vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.

CVSS VectorVendor: vendor:ubuntu

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

4
Analysis Updated
Sep 01, 2026 - 19:30 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
CVSS changed
Sep 01, 2026 - 19:22 NVD
9.1 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Aug 25, 2026 - 15:01 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 25, 2026 - 00:00 cve.org
LOW

DescriptionCVE.org

AEAD Forgeries with Empty Ciphertext When Using EVP_Cipher()

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

OpenSSL 3.0-4.0 contains a critical flaw in authenticated encryption that allows attackers to forge encrypted messages without detection, directly compromising data integrity across systems using these versions. While current exploitation remains limited (0.1% EPSS, no public exploits), the severity of the flaw and OpenSSL's ubiquitous role in enterprise encryption makes this a critical remediation priority.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
OpenSSL is the de facto cryptography library across nearly all environments
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact
High

Priority Score

46
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +46
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

CVE-2014-0160 HIGH POC
7.5 Apr 07

The (1) TLS and (2) DTLS implementations in OpenSSL 1.0.1 before 1.0.1g do not properly handle Heartbeat Extension packe

CVE-2021-3711 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Aug 24

In order to decrypt SM2 encrypted data an application is expected to call the API function EVP_PKEY_decrypt(). Rated cri

CVE-2014-0195 MEDIUM POC
6.8 Jun 05

The dtls1_reassemble_fragment function in d1_both.c in OpenSSL before 0.9.8za, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0m, and 1.0.1 before 1.0

CVE-2014-0224 HIGH POC
7.4 Jun 05

OpenSSL before 0.9.8za, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0m, and 1.0.1 before 1.0.1h does not properly restrict processing of ChangeCiph

CVE-2016-0800 MEDIUM POC
5.9 Mar 01

The SSLv2 protocol, as used in OpenSSL before 1.0.1s and 1.0.2 before 1.0.2g and other products, requires a server to se

CVE-2015-0204 MEDIUM POC
4.3 Jan 09

The ssl3_get_key_exchange function in s3_clnt.c in OpenSSL before 0.9.8zd, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0p, and 1.0.1 before 1.0.1k

CVE-2022-2068 HIGH
7.3 Jun 21

In addition to the c_rehash shell command injection identified in CVE-2022-1292, further circumstances where the c_rehas

CVE-2015-4000 LOW POC
3.7 May 21

The TLS protocol 1.2 and earlier, when a DHE_EXPORT ciphersuite is enabled on a server but not on a client, does not pro

CVE-2014-3566 LOW POC
3.4 Oct 15

The SSL protocol 3.0, as used in OpenSSL through 1.0.1i and other products, uses nondeterministic CBC padding, which mak

CVE-2016-2107 MEDIUM POC
5.9 May 05

The AES-NI implementation in OpenSSL before 1.0.1t and 1.0.2 before 1.0.2h does not consider memory allocation during a

CVE-2015-1793 MEDIUM POC
6.5 Jul 09

The X509_verify_cert function in crypto/x509/x509_vfy.c in OpenSSL 1.0.1n, 1.0.1o, 1.0.2b, and 1.0.2c does not properly

CVE-2022-3602 HIGH
7.5 Nov 01

A buffer overrun can be triggered in X.509 certificate verification, specifically in name constraint checking. Rated hig

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
Container suse/ltss/sle15.5/sle15:15.5-8.67 Affected
Container suse/ltss/sle15.6/bci-base-fips:15.6-35.94 Affected
Container suse/ltss/sle15.6/sle15:15.6-5.86 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container:latest Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container:latest Image SL-Micro Image SL-Micro-Base Image SL-Micro-Base-RT Image SL-Micro-Base-RT-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Base-RT-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Base-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Base-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Base-qcow Image SL-Micro-Default Image SL-Micro-Default-SelfInstall Image SL-Micro-Default-encrypted Image SL-Micro-Default-qcow Affected

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy