Security Resilience

CVE-2026-45446

Openssl 3.0.0 – 3.0.21

Published
09 June 2026
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0024 14th percentile
Risk Priority 39 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2026-45446 is a medium-severity Missing Cryptographic Step (CWE-325) vulnerability in Openssl Openssl. Its CVSS base score is 4.8 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Protocol or Service Impersonation (T1001.003); ranked at the 14th 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 SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SC-13 (Cryptographic Protection) — 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.

The vulnerability affects OpenSSL's provider implementations of the AES-SIV (RFC 5297) and AES-GCM-SIV (RFC 8452) authenticated encryption modes, present since versions 3.0 and 3.2 respectively. It stems from incorrect handling of Additional Authenticated Data (AAD) when the ciphertext is empty: the tag verification logic in EVP_DecryptFinal_ex only recomputes the expected tag on non-empty data, leaving an all-zeros tag in place and allowing forged messages to pass authentication.

An attacker able to supply crafted inputs to an application using these ciphers through the low-level EVP interface can forge messages containing arbitrary AAD, an empty ciphertext, and a zero tag. For AES-GCM-SIV this succeeds in a single shot under any key; for AES-SIV the attacker must also cause the application to reuse a decryption context without resetting the key. No TLS, CMS, PKCS7, HPKE, or QUIC protocol code inside OpenSSL itself uses these algorithms, so exploitation requires a custom protocol that skips the ciphertext update step on zero-length messages.

The referenced commits (25b32cd9, 71e2a5d2, 7fe3f33a, daca0f48, eec5e9bf) contain the corrective changes. The FIPS module boundaries in OpenSSL 3.0 through 4.0 are unaffected because the algorithms lie outside approved code. The current EPSS of 0.0001 shows no material increase since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Issue summary: The implementations of AES-SIV (RFC 5297) and AES-GCM-SIV (RFC 8452) mishandle the authentication of AAD (Additional Authenticated Data) with an empty ciphertext allowing a forgery of such messages. Impact summary: An attacker can forge empty messages with arbitrary…

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AAD to the victim's application using these ciphers. AES-SIV (RFC 5297) and AES-GCM-SIV (RFC 8452) are nonce-misuse-resistant AEAD modes: they accept a key, nonce, optional AAD (bytes that are authenticated but not encrypted), and plaintext, and produces ciphertext plus a 16-byte tag. On decrypt, `EVP_DecryptFinal_ex()` is documented to return success only if the tag is verified succesfully. In OpenSSL's provider implementation of these ciphers, the expected tag is computed only when decryption function is invoked with non-empty data. If the caller supplies AAD and then calls `EVP_DecryptFinal_ex()` without invocation of the ciphertext update, which can happen when the received ciphertext length is zero, the tag is never recalculated and still holds its all-zeros value. When AES-GCM-SIV is used, an attacker who sends arbitrary AAD, empty ciphertext, and all-zeros tag passes authentication under any key they do not know, single-shot. When AES-SIV is used, for mounting the attack it's necessary for the application to reuse the decryption context without resetting the key. AES-SIV is implemented since OpenSSL 3.0. AES-GCM-SIV is implemented since OpenSSL 3.2. No protocols implemented in OpenSSL itself (TLS/CMS/PKCS7/HPKE/QUIC) support either AES-GCM-SIV or AES-SIV. To mount an attack, the applications must implement their own protocol and use the EVP interface. Also they must skip the ciphertext update when a message with an empty ciphertext arrives. The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as these algorithms are not FIPS approved and the affected code is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-45445Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2025-69418Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2026-42770Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2026-45447Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2023-3446Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2025-15467Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2025-11187Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2026-18798Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2003-0545Same product: Openssl Openssl
CVE-2026-35188Same product: Openssl Openssl

Affected Assets

openssl
openssl
4.0.0 · 3.0.0 — 3.0.21 · 3.4.0 — 3.4.6 · 3.5.0 — 3.5.7

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 14 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Requires selection and implementation of specific approved cryptographic algorithms and methods, reducing the chance that an incomplete algorithm is used.

Mandates developer testing and evaluation that can uncover missing cryptographic steps through functional and penetration testing.

Requires documented development standards and processes that include correct cryptographic algorithm implementation.

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 partial match
blocks

Proper encryption of data-at-rest requires all algorithm steps; omitting one directly weakens the control.

PR.DS-02 partial match
blocks

Proper encryption of data-in-transit requires all algorithm steps; omitting one directly weakens the control.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices explicitly include correct cryptographic algorithm implementation and testing.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

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` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248524 OL 8 must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography for the following: To provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect data requiring data-at-rest protections in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. blocks CWE-325
  • V-248535 The OL 8 shadow password suite must be configured to use a sufficient number of hashing rounds. blocks CWE-325
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271454 OL 9 must enable FIPS mode. blocks CWE-325
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204497 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography for the following: to provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect data requiring data-at-rest protections in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. blocks CWE-325
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230223 RHEL 8 must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography for the following: To provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect data requiring data-at-rest protections in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. blocks CWE-325
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260650 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography to protect classified information and for the following: To provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect unclassified information requiring confidentiality and cryptographic protection in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. blocks CWE-325
Ubuntu 24.04 (1 rule)
  • V-270744 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS must implement NIST FIPS-validated cryptography to protect classified information and for the following: To provision digital signatures, to generate cryptographic hashes, and to protect unclassified information requiring confidentiality and cryptographic protection in accordance with applicable federal laws, Executive Orders, directives, policies, regulations, and standards. blocks CWE-325

References