Description
OpenSSL supports creating a custom cipher via the legacy EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() function and associated function calls. This function was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0 and application authors are instead encouraged to use the new provider mechanism in order to implement custom ciphers. OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 to 3.0.5 incorrectly handle legacy custom ciphers passed to the EVP_EncryptInit_ex2(), EVP_DecryptInit_ex2() and EVP_CipherInit_ex2() functions (as well as other similarly named encryption and decryption initialisation functions). Instead of using the custom cipher directly it incorrectly tries to fetch an equivalent cipher from the available providers. An equivalent cipher is found based on the NID passed to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). This NID is supposed to represent the unique NID for a given cipher. However it is possible for an application to incorrectly pass NID_undef as this value in the call to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). When NID_undef is used in this way the OpenSSL encryption/decryption initialisation function will match the NULL cipher as being equivalent and will fetch this from the available providers. This will succeed if the default provider has been loaded (or if a third party provider has been loaded that offers this cipher). Using the NULL cipher means that the plaintext is emitted as the ciphertext. Applications are only affected by this issue if they call EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() using NID_undef and subsequently use it in a call to an encryption/decryption initialisation function. Applications that only use SSL/TLS are not impacted by this issue. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.6 (Affected 3.0.0-3.0.5).
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL | OpenSSL | Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.6 (Affected 3.0.0-3.0.5) | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | openssl | 3.0.7-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | openssl | 3.0.7-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | openssl | 3.0.7-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | openssl | 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.7 | USN-5710-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | edk2 | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 9 | openssl +3 | 1:3.0.7-6.el9_2 | RHSA-2023:2523 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 9 | openssl +3 | 1:3.0.7-6.el9_2 | ALSA-2023:2523 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP4 | openssl-3 | 3.0.1-150400.4.11.1 | SUSE-SU-2022:3843-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | openssl-3 | 3.0.7-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:12475-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | openssl-3 | 3.0.1-150400.4.11.1 | SUSE-SU-2022:3843-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.21 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.20 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.19 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.18 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.17 | openssl | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.16 | openssl3 | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.15 | openssl3 | 3.0.6-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | openssl +3 | 1:3.0.8-1.amzn2023.0.1 | ALAS2023-2023-054 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | openssl +3 | 1:3.0.7-6.0.1.el9_2 | ELSA-2023-2523 |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | openssl | 3.0.7-r0 | — |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Metasploit 1 module
-
SSL/TLS Version Detection
auxiliary/scanner/ssl/ssl_version
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| crates.io | openssl-src | >= 300.0.0, < 300.0.10 | 300.0.10 | GHSA-4f63-89w9-3jjv |
Advisories 9
- ALSA-2023:2523 Low: openssl security and bug fix update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- RHSA-2023:2523 Red Hat Security Advisory: openssl security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 30, 2026
- USN-5710-1 openssl vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Apr 27, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:12475-1 libopenssl-3-devel-3.0.7-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2022:3843-1 Security update for openssl-3 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- WID-SEC-2023-1542 Red Hat OpenShift: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 18, 2025
- WID-SEC-2022-1690 OpenSSL: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Offenlegung von Informationen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 25, 2024
- ELSA-2023-2523 Low: openssl security and bug fix update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · May 15, 2023
- ALAS2023-2023-054 Moderate: openssl security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Feb 22, 2023
References
- https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20221011.txt
- https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=5485c56679d7c49b96e8fc8ca708b0b7e7c03c4b
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20221028-0014/
- https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2022-0023
- GLSA-202402-08 vendor-advisory