OpenSSL up to 3.6.0 PKCS#7 PKCS7_digest_from_attributes unusual condition

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in OpenSSL up to 3.6.0 and classified as problematic. This affects the function PKCS7_digest_from_attributes of the component PKCS#7 Handler. The manipulation results in unusual condition. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-22796. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in OpenSSL up to 3.6.0. It has been classified as problematic. Affected is the function PKCS7_digest_from_attributes of the component PKCS#7 Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a unusual condition vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-754. The product does not check or incorrectly checks for unusual or exceptional conditions that are not expected to occur frequently during day to day operation of the product. This is going to have an impact on availability. CVE summarizes:

Issue summary: A type confusion vulnerability exists in the signature verification of signed PKCS#7 data where an ASN1_TYPE union member is accessed without first validating the type, causing an invalid or NULL pointer dereference when processing malformed PKCS#7 data. Impact summary: An application performing signature verification of PKCS#7 data or calling directly the PKCS7_digest_from_attributes() function can be caused to dereference an invalid or NULL pointer when reading, resulting in a Denial of Service. The function PKCS7_digest_from_attributes() accesses the message digest attribute value without validating its type. When the type is not V_ASN1_OCTET_STRING, this results in accessing invalid memory through the ASN1_TYPE union, causing a crash. Exploiting this vulnerability requires an attacker to provide a malformed signed PKCS#7 to an application that verifies it. The impact of the exploit is just a Denial of Service, the PKCS7 API is legacy and applications should be using the CMS API instead. For these reasons the issue was assessed as Low severity. The FIPS modules in 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the PKCS#7 parsing implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary. OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are vulnerable to this issue.

The advisory is shared for download at openssl-library.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-22796 since 01/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 03/13/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 296784 (OpenSSL 3.3.0 < 3.3.6 Multiple Vulnerabilities), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 1.0.2zn, 1.1.1ze, 3.0.19, 3.3.6, 3.4.4, 3.5.5 or 3.6.1 eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (296784) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0234). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Affected

• IBM VIOS
• IBM AIX
• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• NetApp Data ONTAP
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IGEL OS
• SUSE openSUSE
• Fabasoft Cloud
• RESF Rocky Linux
• IBM App Connect Enterprise
• Open Source OpenSSL
• Broadcom Brocade SANnav
• Fortinet FortiPortal
• Meinberg LANTIME
• Red Hat OpenShift
• IBM MQ
• Open Source Camunda
• ABB AC-500

Productinfo

Type

• Network Encryption Software

Name

• OpenSSL

Version

• 1.0.2za
• 1.0.2zb
• 1.0.2zc
• 1.0.2zd
• 1.0.2ze
• 1.0.2zf
• 1.0.2zg
• 1.0.2zh
• 1.0.2zi
• 1.0.2zj
• 1.0.2zk
• 1.0.2zl
• 1.0.2zm
• 3.0
• 3.0.0
• 3.0.1
• 3.0.2
• 3.0.3
• 3.0.4
• 3.0.5
• 3.0.6
• 3.0.7
• 3.0.8
• 3.0.9
• 3.0.10
• 3.0.11
• 3.0.12
• 3.0.13
• 3.0.14
• 3.0.15
• 3.0.16
• 3.0.17
• 3.0.18
• 3.1
• 3.2
• 3.3
• 3.3.0
• 3.3.1
• 3.3.2
• 3.3.3
• 3.3.4
• 3.3.5
• 3.4
• 3.4.0
• 3.4.1
• 3.4.2
• 3.4.3
• 3.5
• 3.5.0
• 3.5.1
• 3.5.2
• 3.5.3
• 3.5.4
• 3.6.0

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://www.openssl.org/

CPE 2.3info

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VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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