OpenSSL 3.x CMS NULL Deref via KeyAgreeRecipientInfo in EnvelopedData
CVE-2026-28389 Published on April 7, 2026
Possible NULL Dereference When Processing CMS KeyAgreeRecipientInfo
Issue summary: During processing of a crafted CMS EnvelopedData message
with KeyAgreeRecipientInfo a NULL pointer dereference can happen.
Impact summary: Applications that process attacker-controlled CMS data may
crash before authentication or cryptographic operations occur resulting in
Denial of Service.
When a CMS EnvelopedData message that uses KeyAgreeRecipientInfo is
processed, the optional parameters field of KeyEncryptionAlgorithmIdentifier
is examined without checking for its presence. This results in a NULL
pointer dereference if the field is missing.
Applications and services that call CMS_decrypt() on untrusted input
(e.g., S/MIME processing or CMS-based protocols) are vulnerable.
The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this
issue, as the affected code is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-28389 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-2026-28389
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Affected Versions
OpenSSL:- Version 3.6.0 and below 3.6.2 is affected.
- Version 3.5.0 and below 3.5.6 is affected.
- Version 3.4.0 and below 3.4.5 is affected.
- Version 3.3.0 and below 3.3.7 is affected.
- Version 3.0.0 and below 3.0.20 is affected.
- Version 1.1.1 and below 1.1.1zg is affected.
- Version 1.0.2 and below 1.0.2zp is affected.
- Before V5.0 is affected.
- Before * 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.