CVE-2024-0727: openssl Null Dereference — Fix

Description

Issue summary: Processing a maliciously formatted PKCS12 file may lead OpenSSL to crash leading to a potential Denial of Service attack Impact summary: Applications loading files in the PKCS12 format from untrusted sources might terminate abruptly. A file in PKCS12 format can contain certificates and keys and may come from an untrusted source. The PKCS12 specification allows certain fields to be NULL, but OpenSSL does not correctly check for this case. This can lead to a NULL pointer dereference that results in OpenSSL crashing. If an application processes PKCS12 files from an untrusted source using the OpenSSL APIs then that application will be vulnerable to this issue. OpenSSL APIs that are vulnerable to this are: PKCS12_parse(), PKCS12_unpack_p7data(), PKCS12_unpack_p7encdata(), PKCS12_unpack_authsafes() and PKCS12_newpass(). We have also fixed a similar issue in SMIME_write_PKCS7(). However since this function is related to writing data we do not consider it security significant. The FIPS modules in 3.2, 3.1 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
openssl	openssl	1.0.2 — 1.0.2zj
openssl	openssl	1.1.1 — 1.1.1x
openssl	openssl	3.0.0 — 3.0.13
openssl	openssl	3.1.0 — 3.1.5
openssl	openssl	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/09df4395b5071217b76dc7d3d2e630eb8c5a79c2 https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/775acfdbd0c6af9ac855f34969cdab0c0c90844a https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/d135eeab8a5dbf72b3da5240bab9ddb7678dbd2c https://github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/03b3941d60c4bce58fab69a0c22377ab439bc0e8 https://github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/aebaa5883e31122b404e450732dc833dc9dee539 https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20240125.txt https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/09df4395b5071217b76dc7d3d2e630eb8c5a79c2 https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/775acfdbd0c6af9ac855f34969cdab0c0c90844a https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/d135eeab8a5dbf72b3da5240bab9ddb7678dbd2c https://github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/03b3941d60c4bce58fab69a0c22377ab439bc0e8 https://github.openssl.org/openssl/extended-releases/commit/aebaa5883e31122b404e450732dc833dc9dee539 https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20240125.txt

Other References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/03/11/1 https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/10/msg00033.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2024/11/msg00000.html https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240208-0006/ https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-265688.html https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-277137.html https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-331112.html https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-769027.html https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-915275.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-0727? +

Issue summary: Processing a maliciously formatted PKCS12 file may lead OpenSSL to crash leading to a potential Denial of Service attack Impact summary: Applications loading files in the PKCS12 format from untrusted sources might terminate abruptly. A file in PKCS12 format can contain certificates and keys and may come from an untrusted source. The PKCS12 specification allows certain fields to be NULL, but OpenSSL does not correctly check for this case. This can lead to a NULL pointer dereference that results in OpenSSL crashing. If an application processes PKCS12 files from an untrusted source using the OpenSSL APIs then that application will be vulnerable to this issue. OpenSSL APIs that are vulnerable to this are: PKCS12_parse(), PKCS12_unpack_p7data(), PKCS12_unpack_p7encdata(), PKCS12_unpack_authsafes() and PKCS12_newpass(). We have also fixed a similar issue in SMIME_write_PKCS7(). However since this function is related to writing data we do not consider it security significant. The FIPS modules in 3.2, 3.1 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-0727? +

CVE-2024-0727 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-0727? +

CVE-2024-0727 affects products from openssl, specifically: openssl. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-0727? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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