libssh2 <=1.11.1 AES-GCM Cipher Integer Underflow Crash
CVE-2026-66033 Published on July 24, 2026

libssh2 Integer Underflow DoS via AES-GCM Cipher Negotiation
libssh2 through 1.11.1, fixed in commit a2ed82d, contains a pre-authentication integer underflow vulnerability in the ssh2_cipher_crypt() function in src/openssl.c that allows a malicious SSH server to crash any connecting client by negotiating AES-GCM ciphers during handshake. Attackers can exploit the underflow in the expression computing blocksize minus aadlen minus authentication tag length to trigger an out-of-bounds read and a memcpy call with a near-SIZE_MAX length argument, causing immediate process crash before any authentication occurs.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-66033 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.

Attack Vector:
NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Weakness Types

What is an Integer underflow Vulnerability?

The product subtracts one value from another, such that the result is less than the minimum allowable integer value, which produces a value that is not equal to the correct result. This can happen in signed and unsigned cases.

CVE-2026-66033 has been classified to as an Integer underflow vulnerability or weakness.

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.


Products Associated with CVE-2026-66033

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Libssh2
 

Affected Versions

libssh2: