CVE-2026-5479
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-5479 is a high-severity Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value (CWE-354) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique OS Credential Dumping (T1003); ranked at the 8th 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 SC-8 (Transmission Confidentiality and 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-2026-5479 is a vulnerability in the wolfSSL cryptographic library's EVP layer, specifically affecting the ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD decryption path in the wolfSSL_EVP_CipherFinal function and related EVP cipher finalization functions. The issue arises because the implementation computes or accepts the authentication tag during decryption but fails to verify it against the expected value before returning plaintext to the caller. This flaw, classified under CWE-354 (Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value), impacts applications that use the wolfSSL EVP API for ChaCha20-Poly1305 decryption.
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by supplying a malformed or tampered ciphertext to an application performing ChaCha20-Poly1305 decryption via the affected wolfSSL EVP functions. Since the authentication tag is not properly checked, the application will accept invalid plaintext as authentic, potentially allowing the attacker to decrypt and process forged or modified data without detection. Exploitation requires the attacker to have the ability to provide ciphertext input to the decryption routine, such as in network protocols or file processing scenarios that rely on wolfSSL for this cipher suite.
A pull request addressing the issue is available at https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102, which presumably implements the necessary authentication tag verification fix for the EVP layer's ChaCha20-Poly1305 decryption path. Security practitioners should review and apply this patch to affected wolfSSL versions to mitigate the risk.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-21292
Vulnerability Data
In wolfSSL's EVP layer, the ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD decryption path in wolfSSL_EVP_CipherFinal (and related EVP cipher finalization functions) fails to verify the authentication tag before returning plaintext to the caller. When an application uses the EVP API to perform ChaCha20-Poly1305 decryption,…
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the implementation computes or accepts the tag but does not compare it against the expected value.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 10 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
V10.4.12
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires integrity verification tools that detect unauthorized changes when checksum validation is missing or flawed.
Mandates cryptographic mechanisms that include integrity protection, preventing improper checksum validation.
Requires protection of transmitted information integrity, directly mandating correct validation of integrity checks.
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.
Mandates pre-acquisition integrity assessment, addressing only the initial portion of the weakness lifecycle.
Requires cryptographic hashes and signatures that directly enforce integrity-check validation for data at rest.
Requires cryptographic hashes and signatures that directly enforce integrity-check validation for data in transit.
Requires verification of backup integrity, covering validation only within recovery scenarios.
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.
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-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. blocks CWE-354
- 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. blocks CWE-354
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
- V-271523 OL 9 must check the GPG signature of locally installed software packages before installation. blocks CWE-354
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. blocks CWE-354
- 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. blocks CWE-354
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
- 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. blocks CWE-354
- V-230265 RHEL 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. blocks CWE-354