Multi-RecipientInfo Bleichenbacher Oracle in CMS_decrypt() and PKCS7_decrypt()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 11 fixed, 6 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Issue summary: The CMS_decrypt and PKCS7_decrypt functions are vulnerable to Bleichenbacher-style attack when an attacker is able to provide the CMS or S/MIME messages and observe the error code and/or decryption output. Impact summary: The Bleichenbacher-style attack allows an attacker to use the victim's vulnerable application as a way to decrypt or sign messages with the victim's private RSA key. The attack is possible in 2 variants. 1. The decryption API (CMS_decrypt(), PKCS7_decrypt()) is used without providing the recipient certificate. In this case OpenSSL iterates over every KeyTransRecipientInfo (KTRI) without stopping at the first success. An attacker who authors a message with two KTRI entries — the first one wrapping a real CEK under the victim's public key, the second with an arbitrary probe ciphertext — obtains opportunity to iterate the 2nd KTRI to get a valid PKCS#1 v1.5 padding if the error code of the application is available. That is a Bleichenbacher oracle (Bleichenbacher, CRYPTO '98): an adaptive-chosen-ciphertext side channel from which the attacker decrypts any RSA ciphertext to the victim's key or forges any PKCS#1 v1.5 signature under it. 2. When the decryption API (CMS_decrypt(), PKCS7_decrypt()) is provided with the recipient certificate, and the recipient is not found, a random key is substituted. An attacker who authors a message and is able to compare both error code and the result of the decryption, can mount a Bleichenbacher oracle. We are not aware of any applications that provide a remote attacker an opportunity to mount an attack described in these scenarios. We consider the existence of such application very unlikely, and for this reason this CVE has been evaluated as Low severity. To avoid these attacks, when RSA PKCS#1 v1.5 Key Transport is in use, the invoked EVP_PKEY_decrypt() will use the implicit rejection mechanism described in draft-irtf-cfrg-rsa-guidance. In previous OpenSSL releases the implicit rejection was explicitly disabled. The implicit rejection mechanism always returns a plaintext value, the symmetric key. This result is deterministic for the ciphertext and the private key. The length of the decryption result can happen to match the length of the key of the symmetric cipher that was used for the content encryption. When a certificate is not provided, the last RecipientInfo producing a key that looks valid will be used. It may cause getting garbage content on decryption. As a proper way to deal with this a recipient certificate has to be provided to identify the particular RecipientInfo for decryption. The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, and 3.4 are not affected by this issue, as CMS and S/MIME processing happens outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL | OpenSSL | 4.0.0 to before 4.0.1; 3.6.0 to before 3.6.3; 3.5.0 to before 3.5.7; 3.4.0 to before 3.4.6 | 4.0.1, 3.6.3, 3.5.7, 3.4.6 | Patch available | CNA |
- OpenSSL VendorOpenSSL Affected 4.0.0 to before 4.0.1; 3.6.0 to before 3.6.3; 3.5.0 to before 3.5.7; 3.4.0 to before 3.4.6 Fixed in 4.0.1, 3.6.3, 3.5.7, 3.4.6 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA OpenSSL (OpenSSL) Fixed in 4.0.1, 3.6.3, 3.5.7, 3.4.6
Red Hat 22 advisories
- RHSA-2026:82888 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.17.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-operator-bundle
- RHSA-2026:82857 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.18.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-operator-bundle
- RHSA-2026:82372 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.18.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-operator-rhel9
Show 19 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:82354 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.18.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-istio-csr-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82347 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.18.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/jetstack-cert-manager-acmesolver-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/jetstack-cert-manager-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82322 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.17.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-operator-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:82304 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.17.2
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/jetstack-cert-manager-acmesolver-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/jetstack-cert-manager-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:72502 Released 2026-09-28 · Red Hat rating Importantcert-manager Operator for Red Hat OpenShift 1.20.1
- Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20 registry.redhat.io/cert-manager/cert-manager-trust-manager-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:67551 Released 2026-09-15 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images bootupd-0.3.2-1.hum1@aarch64, bootupd-0.3.2-1.hum1@x86_64, rust-bootupd-0.3.2-1.hum1@src
- RHSA-2026:62790 Released 2026-09-02 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images ruby3.4-3.4.10-31.7.hum1@aarch64, ruby3.4-3.4.10-31.7.hum1@src, ruby3.4-3.4.10-31.7.hum1@x86_64 +10
- RHSA-2026:62563 Released 2026-09-02 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images ruby4.0-4.0.6-37.3.hum1@aarch64, ruby4.0-4.0.6-37.3.hum1@src, ruby4.0-4.0.6-37.3.hum1@x86_64 +46
- RHSA-2026:62562 Released 2026-09-02 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs Security Update
- Red Hat Hardened Images ruby3.3-3.3.10-23.6.hum1@aarch64, ruby3.3-3.3.10-23.6.hum1@src, ruby3.3-3.3.10-23.6.hum1@x86_64 +46
- RHSA-2026:59641 Released 2026-08-25 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images openssl-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@aarch64, openssl-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@src, openssl-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@x86_64 +12
- RHSA-2026:59635 Released 2026-08-25 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images openssl3-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@src, openssl3-devel-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@aarch64, openssl3-devel-1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1@x86_64 +4
- RHSA-2026:58981 Released 2026-08-24 · Red Hat rating CriticalRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5.3 Technology Preview security update
- Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 registry.redhat.io/rhui5/cds-kubernetes-tp-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/installer-tp-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/rhua-tp-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:55543 Released 2026-08-17 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images python-cryptography-50.0.0-1.hum1@src, python3-cryptography-50.0.0-1.hum1@aarch64, python3-cryptography-50.0.0-1.hum1@x86_64
- RHSA-2026:42825 Released 2026-07-21 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update
- Red Hat Hardened Images chunkah-0.6.0-3.hum1@aarch64, chunkah-0.6.0-3.hum1@src, chunkah-0.6.0-3.hum1@x86_64
- RHSA-2026:34102 Released 2026-07-01 · Red Hat rating ImportantInsights proxy Container Image
- Red Hat Insights proxy 1.5 registry.redhat.io/insights-proxy/insights-proxy-container-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:29197 Released 2026-06-24 · Red Hat rating ImportantA Subscription Management tool for finding and reporting Red Hat product usage
- Red Hat Discovery 2 registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-server-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/discovery/discovery-ui-rhel9
- RHSA-2026:26319 Released 2026-06-16 · Red Hat rating ImportantRed Hat Update Infrastructure 5.2 security update
- Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 registry.redhat.io/rhui5/cds-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/haproxy-rhel9, registry.redhat.io/rhui5/installer-rhel9 +1
- RHSA-2026:25239 Released 2026-06-11 · Red Hat rating Importantopenssl security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) openssl-devel-1:3.5.5-4.el9_8, openssl-perl-1:3.5.5-4.el9_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) openssl-1:3.5.5-4.el9_8, openssl-libs-1:3.5.5-4.el9_8
- RHSA-2026:25237 Released 2026-06-11 · Red Hat rating Importantopenssl security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) openssl-devel-1:3.5.5-4.el10_2, openssl-perl-1:3.5.5-4.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) openssl-1:3.5.5-4.el10_2, openssl-libs-1:3.5.5-4.el10_2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260609.txt
18 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 6 MEDIUM, 12 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-33226 Heap Use-After-Free in the PKCS7_verify() FunctionPriority MEDIUM 47
- TI-2026-26479 CMS AuthEnvelopedData Processing May Accept Forged MessagesPriority MEDIUM 47
- TI-2026-30987 NULL Pointer Dereference in QUIC Server Initial Packet HandlingPriority MEDIUM 41
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:82304, RHSA-2026:82322, RHSA-2026:82888 |
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:82347, RHSA-2026:82354, RHSA-2026:82372, RHSA-2026:82857 |
| Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.20 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:72502 |
| Red Hat Discovery 2 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:29197 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:25237 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:25239 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:25237 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:25239 |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | Fixed | RHSA-2026:42825, RHSA-2026:55543, RHSA-2026:59635, RHSA-2026:59641, RHSA-2026:62562, RHSA-2026:62563, RHSA-2026:62790, RHSA-2026:67551 |
| Red Hat Insights proxy 1.5 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:34102 |
| Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 | Fixed | RHSA-2026:26319, RHSA-2026:58981 |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Hardened Images
- Red Hat JBoss Core Services
- Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6
- Red Hat JBoss Web Server 7
- Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-42768
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5m8f-m8jv-3rp3
- 2026-10-09 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82304 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82322 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82372 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82354 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82347 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-15 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82857 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-15 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82888 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.17, Cert Manager support for Red Hat OpenShift release 1.18 · Red Hat
References
More Openssl vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-01915 The c_rehash script allows command injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-02645 SM2 Decryption Buffer Overflow CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2009-03392 The TLS protocol, and the SSL protocol 3.0 and possibly earlier, as used in Microsoft… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-01176 The c_rehash script allows command injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-00154 The (1) TLS and (2) DTLS implementations in OpenSSL 1.0.1 before 1.0.1g do not properly… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-14107 Stack buffer overflow in CMS (Auth)EnvelopedData parsing CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-42768 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-42768 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5m8f-m8jv-3rp3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-42768 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences