OpenSSL <=3.6 Null Ptr Deref in PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex (DoS)
CVE-2025-69421 Published on January 27, 2026
NULL Pointer Dereference in PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex function
Issue summary: Processing a malformed PKCS#12 file can trigger a NULL pointer
dereference in the PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex() function.
Impact summary: A NULL pointer dereference can trigger a crash which leads to
Denial of Service for an application processing PKCS#12 files.
The PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex() function does not check whether the oct
parameter is NULL before dereferencing it. When called from
PKCS12_unpack_p7encdata() with a malformed PKCS#12 file, this parameter can
be NULL, causing a crash. The vulnerability is limited to Denial of Service
and cannot be escalated to achieve code execution or memory disclosure.
Exploiting this issue requires an attacker to provide a malformed PKCS#12 file
to an application that processes it. For that reason the issue was assessed as
Low severity according to our Security Policy.
The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue,
as the PKCS#12 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.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-69421 can be exploited with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity, and a high impact on availability.
Weakness Type
NULL Pointer Dereference
A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. NULL pointer dereference issues can occur through a number of flaws, including race conditions, and simple programming omissions.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-69421
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Affected Versions
OpenSSL:- Version 3.6.0 and below 3.6.1 is affected.
- Version 3.5.0 and below 3.5.5 is affected.
- Version 3.4.0 and below 3.4.4 is affected.
- Version 3.3.0 and below 3.3.6 is affected.
- Version 3.0.0 and below 3.0.19 is affected.
- Version 1.1.1 and below 1.1.1ze is affected.
- Version 1.0.2 and below 1.0.2zn is affected.
Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.