OpenSSL CMS OOB Read/Write via PWRI Encr. (v<3.5)
CVE-2025-9230 Published on September 30, 2025
Out-of-bounds read & write in RFC 3211 KEK Unwrap
Issue summary: An application trying to decrypt CMS messages encrypted using
password based encryption can trigger an out-of-bounds read and write.
Impact summary: This out-of-bounds read may trigger a crash which leads to
Denial of Service for an application. The out-of-bounds write can cause
a memory corruption which can have various consequences including
a Denial of Service or Execution of attacker-supplied code.
Although the consequences of a successful exploit of this vulnerability
could be severe, the probability that the attacker would be able to
perform it is low. Besides, password based (PWRI) encryption support in CMS
messages is very rarely used. For that reason the issue was assessed as
Moderate severity according to our Security Policy.
The FIPS modules in 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.2, 3.1 and 3.0 are not affected by this
issue, as the CMS implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module
boundary.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-9230 is exploitable 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 Types
Out-of-bounds Read
The software reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Typically, this can allow attackers to read sensitive information from other memory locations or cause a crash. A crash can occur when the code reads a variable amount of data and assumes that a sentinel exists to stop the read operation, such as a NUL in a string. The expected sentinel might not be located in the out-of-bounds memory, causing excessive data to be read, leading to a segmentation fault or a buffer overflow. The software may modify an index or perform pointer arithmetic that references a memory location that is outside of the boundaries of the buffer. A subsequent read operation then produces undefined or unexpected results.
What is a Memory Corruption Vulnerability?
The software writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Typically, this can result in corruption of data, a crash, or code execution. The software may modify an index or perform pointer arithmetic that references a memory location that is outside of the boundaries of the buffer. A subsequent write operation then produces undefined or unexpected results.
CVE-2025-9230 has been classified to as a Memory Corruption vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-9230
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Affected Versions
OpenSSL:- Version 3.5.0 and below 3.5.4 is affected.
- Version 3.4.0 and below 3.4.3 is affected.
- Version 3.3.0 and below 3.3.5 is affected.
- Version 3.2.0 and below 3.2.6 is affected.
- Version 3.0.0 and below 3.0.18 is affected.
- Version 1.1.1 and below 1.1.1zd is affected.
- Version 1.0.2 and below 1.0.2zm 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.