Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-5594

Openvpn 2.6.0 – 2.6.11

Published
06 January 2025
Modified
03 November 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0083 54th percentile
Risk Priority 68 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-5594 is a critical-severity Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input (CWE-1287) vulnerability in Openvpn Openvpn. Its CVSS base score is 9.1 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 46% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2024-5594 is a vulnerability in OpenVPN versions prior to 2.6.11 that stems from improper sanitization of PUSH_REPLY messages. An attacker controlling the OpenVPN server can exploit this flaw to inject unexpected arbitrary data, which ends up in the client logs. The issue is classified under CWE-1287 (Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input) and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N), indicating critical severity due to high impacts on confidentiality and integrity.

The attack requires an adversary to control the OpenVPN server, with no privileges, user interaction, or special conditions needed beyond network access. Exploitation allows the injection of arbitrary data into client-side logs, potentially enabling log poisoning, exposure of sensitive information through crafted payloads, or disruption of log integrity for forensic analysis.

Advisories recommend upgrading to OpenVPN 2.6.11 or later to mitigate the vulnerability, as detailed in the official OpenVPN wiki at https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/CVE-2024-5594. Additional guidance appears in the OpenVPN users mailing list at https://www.mail-archive.com/openvpn-users@lists.sourceforge.net/msg07634.html and Debian LTS announcement at https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/03/msg00005.html, which cover patched packages for affected distributions.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

OpenVPN before 2.6.11 does not santize PUSH_REPLY messages properly which an attacker controlling the server can use to inject unexpected arbitrary data ending up in client logs.

CWE(s)
CWE-1287

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-13117Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2026-40215Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2024-27459Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2026-11604Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2026-13379Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2025-12106Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2024-27903Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2026-13122Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2026-35058Same product: Openvpn Openvpn
CVE-2025-2704Same product: Openvpn Openvpn

Affected Assets

openvpn
openvpn
2.6.0 — 2.6.11

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.1.1
  • V1.4.2
  • V2.1.1
  • V2.2.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

SI-10 directly requires validation of information inputs, which structurally prevents type-validation failures from being introduced or exploitable.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require proper input type validation during development.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect type-validation flaws but does not prevent them during development.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and type checking to prevent improper type handling.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly include validation of input data types and formats.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles promote defensive input handling and type enforcement at system boundaries.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require proper type validation of all external inputs.

References