OpenSSL up to 0.9.7 ASN.1 Library denial of service

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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4.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in OpenSSL up to 0.9.7. This affects an unknown part of the component ASN.1 Library. Performing a manipulation results in denial of service. This vulnerability was named CVE-2002-0659. In addition, an exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in OpenSSL up to 0.9.7 (Network Encryption Software). This affects an unknown code of the component ASN.1 Library. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

The ASN1 library in OpenSSL 0.9.6d and earlier, and 0.9.7-beta2 and earlier, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via invalid encodings.

The issue has been introduced in 12/23/1998. The weakness was presented 08/12/2002 as confirmed advisory (CERT.org). It is possible to read the advisory at kb.cert.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2002-0659. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available.

The exploit is shared for download at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 1328 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 12316 (RHEL 2.1 : openssl (RHSA-2002:161)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Red Hat Local Security Checks and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 38124 (OpenSSL ASN.1 Parsing Error Denial of Service Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published 7 months after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (9718), Exploit-DB (23199), Tenable (12316), SecurityFocus (BID 5366†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-3438†). See VDB-300 for similar entry. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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Name

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License

Support

  • end of life (old version)

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.8

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Download: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 12316
Nessus Name: RHEL 2.1 : openssl (RHSA-2002:161)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍
Nessus Port: 🔍

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Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
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Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
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Timelineinfo

12/23/1998 🔍
07/30/2002 +1315 days 🔍
07/30/2002 +0 days 🔍
08/12/2002 +13 days 🔍
08/12/2002 +0 days 🔍
02/05/2003 +177 days 🔍
01/13/2004 +342 days 🔍
07/06/2004 +175 days 🔍
07/22/2014 +3668 days 🔍
09/14/2025 +4072 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Product: openssl.org

Advisory: kb.cert.org
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2002-0659 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2002-0659
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-18603
CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 9718
SecurityFocus: 5366 - OpenSSL ASN.1 Parsing Error Denial Of Service Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 3438 - ASN.1 library in OpenSSL Allows DoS, Medium

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 07/22/2014 22:38
Updated: 09/14/2025 21:19
Changes: 07/22/2014 22:38 (68), 05/19/2019 11:52 (4), 06/27/2021 14:36 (3), 06/23/2024 04:54 (16), 12/28/2024 15:22 (11), 09/14/2025 21:19 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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