OpenSSL up to 4.0.2 CRL Distribution Points allocation of resources

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as problematic has been identified in OpenSSL up to 3.0.22/3.4.7/3.5.8/3.6.4/4.0.2. This affects an unknown function of the component CRL Distribution Points. Executing a manipulation can lead to allocation of resources. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-35189. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in OpenSSL up to 3.0.22/3.4.7/3.5.8/3.6.4/4.0.2 and classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects an unknown code block of the component CRL Distribution Points. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a allocation of resources vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-770. The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated, in violation of the intended security policy for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

Issue summary: A certificate with many nameRelativeToCRLIssuer CRL distribution points causes disproportionate heap growth when OpenSSL caches X.509 extensions. Impact summary: Receiving a crafted certificate from a malicious peer can lead to significant memory pressure and possible Denial of Service in clients or in servers that solicit client certificates. CWE: CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling Description: A certificate or a set of certificates that fits under the limit for size of certificates accepted from the peer (~100 KiB) can result in allocation of several hundred MiB of resident memory on the receiving side during a normal TLS handshake. This may be enough to crash the client or server, if multiple concurrent connections lead to similarly large memory allocations. The fix postpones processing of the CRL distribution points extensions in certificates to the time when the processed value is required for CRL processing. This avoids keeping large memory allocations for a long time when such certificates are received. FIPS impact: no The affected code is outside the FIPS module boundary.

The advisory is available at openssl-library.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-35189 since 04/01/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not available. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/29/2026). This vulnerability is assigned to T1499 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

Upgrading to version 1.0.2zs, 1.1.1zj, 3.0.23, 3.4.8, 3.5.9, 3.6.5 or 4.0.3 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Network Encryption Software

Name

• OpenSSL

Version

• 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
• 3.0.19
• 3.0.20
• 3.0.21
• 3.0.22
• 3.4.0
• 3.4.1
• 3.4.2
• 3.4.3
• 3.4.4
• 3.4.5
• 3.4.6
• 3.4.7
• 3.5.0
• 3.5.1
• 3.5.2
• 3.5.3
• 3.5.4
• 3.5.5
• 3.5.6
• 3.5.7
• 3.5.8
• 3.6.0
• 3.6.1
• 3.6.2
• 3.6.3
• 3.6.4
• 4.0.0
• 4.0.1
• 4.0.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://www.openssl.org/

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