CVE-2022-3602 in Essbase
Summary
by MITRE • 11/01/2022
A buffer overrun can be triggered in X.509 certificate verification, specifically in name constraint checking. Note that this occurs after certificate chain signature verification and requires either a CA to have signed the malicious certificate or for the application to continue certificate verification despite failure to construct a path to a trusted issuer. An attacker can craft a malicious email address to overflow four attacker-controlled bytes on the stack. This buffer overflow could result in a crash (causing a denial of service) or potentially remote code execution. Many platforms implement stack overflow protections which would mitigate against the risk of remote code execution. The risk may be further mitigated based on stack layout for any given platform/compiler. Pre-announcements of CVE-2022-3602 described this issue as CRITICAL. Further analysis based on some of the mitigating factors described above have led this to be downgraded to HIGH. Users are still encouraged to upgrade to a new version as soon as possible. In a TLS client, this can be triggered by connecting to a malicious server. In a TLS server, this can be triggered if the server requests client authentication and a malicious client connects. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.7 (Affected 3.0.0,3.0.1,3.0.2,3.0.3,3.0.4,3.0.5,3.0.6).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/14/2026
The vulnerability described in CVE-2022-3602 represents a critical buffer overrun condition within the X.509 certificate verification process, specifically during name constraint checking operations. This flaw exists within the OpenSSL cryptographic library and manifests when processing certificate chains where name constraints are evaluated. The vulnerability operates at a fundamental level of certificate validation, occurring after the initial signature verification but before the final path construction to a trusted issuer. This timing is crucial as it allows an attacker to exploit the system during legitimate certificate validation processes rather than during initial handshake operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a stack-based buffer overflow that can be triggered by crafting a malicious email address within certificate extensions. The overflow affects four attacker-controlled bytes on the stack, providing potential for exploitation in both denial of service and remote code execution scenarios. The flaw specifically targets the name constraint checking mechanism which validates that certificate subjects conform to specified naming restrictions. When an attacker constructs a certificate with an overly long email address field, the verification routine fails to properly bounds-check the input, leading to the overflow condition. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-121 as a stack-based buffer overflow, representing a classic memory safety issue that has plagued cryptographic implementations for decades.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across numerous TLS implementations and certificate validation scenarios. In TLS client contexts, the vulnerability can be triggered simply by connecting to a malicious server that presents a crafted certificate containing the overflow payload. Similarly, in TLS server configurations that require client authentication, an attacker can exploit the vulnerability by presenting a malicious client certificate during the authentication process. The attack vectors are particularly concerning because they can be executed without requiring prior authentication or privileged access to the target system. The potential for denial of service is immediate and certain, as the buffer overflow will inevitably crash the application process. Remote code execution remains a possibility, though it is mitigated by modern stack protection mechanisms such as stack canaries, address space layout randomization, and non-executable stack protections that are standard on most contemporary platforms.
The remediation for this vulnerability requires updating to OpenSSL version 3.0.7 or later, as the affected versions 3.0.0 through 3.0.6 contain the exploitable buffer overrun condition. This update addresses the specific bounds-checking failure in the name constraint validation code that enables the overflow. Security practitioners should prioritize this update across all systems that utilize OpenSSL for TLS operations, particularly those handling certificate validation for web servers, email systems, and any other applications requiring X.509 certificate verification. The vulnerability's classification was downgraded from critical to high based on the analysis of platform-specific mitigations including stack protection mechanisms, but the underlying risk remains significant enough to warrant immediate remediation. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for credential access and T1499.004 for network denial of service, demonstrating its potential for both compromising system integrity and availability. The attack surface is particularly broad given that OpenSSL is used across countless applications and platforms, making this vulnerability a high-priority target for exploitation by threat actors seeking to compromise secure communications infrastructure.