Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-33895

Digitalbazaar Forge ≤ 1.3.3

Published
27 March 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0054 43th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-33895 is a high-severity Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature (CWE-347) vulnerability in Digitalbazaar Forge. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Supply Chain Compromise (T1195); ranked at the 43th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-13 (Cryptographic Protection) and SI-7 (Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity) — 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-2026-33895 is a vulnerability in Forge, also known as node-forge, a JavaScript implementation of Transport Layer Security. Prior to version 1.4.0, the Ed25519 signature verification accepts forged non-canonical signatures where the scalar S is not reduced modulo the group order (S >= L). A valid signature and its S + L variant both verify successfully in Forge, while Node.js crypto.verify (backed by OpenSSL) rejects the S + L variant as specified.

Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity and no privileges required, per its CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N). By crafting malleable signatures, attackers can bypass authentication and authorization logic. Applications depending on signature uniqueness—such as deduplication by signature bytes, replay tracking, or signed-object canonicalization checks—are susceptible to evasion.

The vulnerability is addressed in Forge version 1.4.0. The GitHub security advisory GHSA-q67f-28xg-22rw provides details, and the patching commit is at https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/bdecf11571c9f1a487cc0fe72fe78ff6dfa96b85. RFC 8032 section 8.4 defines the proper signature verification requirements.

This signature malleability issue has been exploited in practice to bypass security controls, as documented in related vulnerabilities CVE-2026-25793 and CVE-2022-35961.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A04:2025 Cryptographic Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Forge (also called `node-forge`) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to version 1.4.0, Ed25519 signature verification accepts forged non-canonical signatures where the scalar S is not reduced modulo the group order (`S >= L`). A…

more

valid signature and its `S + L` variant both verify in forge, while Node.js `crypto.verify` (OpenSSL-backed) rejects the `S + L` variant, as defined by the specification. This class of signature malleability has been exploited in practice to bypass authentication and authorization logic (see CVE-2026-25793, CVE-2022-35961). Applications relying on signature uniqueness (i.e., dedup by signature bytes, replay tracking, signed-object canonicalization checks) may be bypassed. Version 1.4.0 patches the issue.

CWE(s)
CWE-347

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1195 Supply Chain Compromise Initial Access
Adversaries may manipulate products or product delivery mechanisms prior to receipt by a final consumer for the purpose of data or system compromise.
attack.mitre.org →
T1195.002 Compromise Software Supply Chain Initial Access
Adversaries may manipulate application software prior to receipt by a final consumer for the purpose of data or system compromise.
attack.mitre.org →
T1542 Pre-OS Boot Stealth
Adversaries may abuse Pre-OS Boot mechanisms as a way to establish persistence on a system.
attack.mitre.org →
T1553 Subvert Trust Controls Defense Impairment
Adversaries may undermine security controls that will either warn users of untrusted activity or prevent execution of untrusted programs.
attack.mitre.org →
T1553.002 Code Signing Defense Impairment
Adversaries may create, acquire, or steal code signing materials to sign their malware or tools.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-33894Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2026-33891Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2026-33896Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2025-12816Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2025-66031Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2025-66030Same product: Digitalbazaar Forge
CVE-2026-5050Shared CWE-347
CVE-2026-48558Shared CWE-347
CVE-2026-23967Shared CWE-347
CVE-2025-43023Shared CWE-347

Affected Assets

digitalbazaar
forge
≤ 1.3.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 14 hardening rules · 5 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-13 Cryptographic Protection good match

Requiring cryptographic protection mechanisms forces correct signature verification to be implemented for data protection.

SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity good match

Mandating integrity verification tools directly requires proper cryptographic signature checking to detect unauthorized changes.

SC-23 Session Authenticity partial match

Protecting session authenticity requires correct verification of cryptographic signatures or equivalent mechanisms.

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.DS-01 mostly match
prevents

Digital signatures are explicitly cited to protect integrity of data-at-rest, so proper verification directly mitigates the weakness.

PR.DS-02 mostly match
prevents

Digital signatures are explicitly cited to protect integrity of data-in-transit, so proper verification directly mitigates the weakness.

ID.RA-09 partial match
prevents

Requires assessing authenticity and integrity of acquired assets, which commonly relies on signature verification but is limited to pre-acquisition.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include code signing and signature verification requirements, addressing the weakness 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.8.24 Use of cryptography partial match
prevents

Establishing approved cryptographic solutions and usage practices lowers the probability that signature-verification steps will be omitted or incorrectly implemented.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248574 YUM must be configured to prevent the installation of patches, service packs, device drivers, or OL 8 system components that have not been digitally signed using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
  • V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
Oracle Linux 9 (2 rules)
  • V-271525 OL 9 must have GPG signature verification enabled for all software repositories. prevents CWE-347
  • V-271523 OL 9 must check the GPG signature of locally installed software packages before installation. prevents CWE-347
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
  • V-204447 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
  • V-204448 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230264 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257822 RHEL 9 must have GPG signature verification enabled for all software repositories. prevents CWE-347

References