Description
Issue summary: When OpenSSL processes QUIC traffic from a peer that repeatedly
sends ack-eliciting packets while not acknowledging ACK-only responses, the
QUIC stack can retain ACK-only packet metadata for the lifetime of the
connection.
Impact summary: A remote peer that can complete a QUIC handshake can
cause connection-scoped memory growth which may lead to Denial of Service
through memory exhaustion, especially with sustained traffic or many concurrent
QUIC connections.
CWE: CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
Description: When the OpenSSL QUIC stack sends an ACK-only packet,
there is no requirement by the QUIC protocol that the peer will acknowledge
that ACK-only packet (i.e. it is itself not ack-eliciting). However, the OpenSSL
implementation stores the metadata about the ACK frames regardless.
In and of itself that's ok, but if a malicious peer establishes a connection, and
then drives the connection such that ACK-only packets are forced from the
OpenSSL implementation peer (i.e., by sending numerous PING frames),
and then withholding any subsequent acks for ack-eliciting data, like
legitimate data, said malicious peer can force inappropriate memory growth
on the OpenSSL peer, potentially leading to a Denial of Service.
The fix is to ensure that we account for the transmission of the ACK-only
packet in the packet histories high and low watermark without actually storing
the ACK-only packet metadata itself.
FIPS impact: no
The OpenSSL FIPS module is not affected as the QUIC code is
outside the FIPS module boundary.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL | OpenSSL | 4.0.0 – < 4.0.2, 3.6.0 – < 3.6.4, 3.5.0 – < 3.5.8, 3.4.0 – < 3.4.7 | 4.0.2 |
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 | 3.6.4-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | openssl | 3.5.7-1~deb13u2 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | edk2 +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | edk2 +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | openssl | 3.5.5-1ubuntu3.4 | USN-8678-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | openssl | 3.0.13-0ubuntu3.15 | USN-8678-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | openssl | 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.29 | USN-8678-1 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | nodejs | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | nodejs | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | openssl +3 | 1:3.5.8-1.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:67154 |
| RHEL 9 | openssl +3 | 1:3.5.8-1.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:67165 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | openssl +10 | 1:3.5.8-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:59641, RHSA-2026:59635 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 10 | openssl +3 | 1:3.5.8-1.el10_2.alma.1 | ALSA-2026:67154 |
| AlmaLinux 9 | openssl +3 | 1:3.5.8-1.el9_8 | ALSA-2026:67165 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | openssl | 1:3.5.8-1.el10_2 | RLSA-2026:67154 |
| Rocky Linux 9 | openssl | 1:3.5.8-1.el9_8 | RLSA-2026:67165 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | openssl-3 | 3.5.0-150700.5.50.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:4039-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | openssl-3 | 3.5.0-160000.10.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23609-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | openssl-3 | 3.5.0-160000.10.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23609-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | openssl-3 | 3.5.0-160000.10.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23463-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | openssl-3 | 3.5.3-8.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11623-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | openssl-3 | 3.5.0-160000.10.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21744-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | openssl | 3.5.8-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | openssl | 3.5.8-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | openssl | 3.5.8-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | openssl +5 | 1:3.5.8-1.amzn2023.0.1 | ALAS2023-2026-2136 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | openssl | 3.3.7-6 | — |
Wolfi
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfi rolling | openssl-4.0 +2 | 4.0.2-r0 | — |
Advisories 18
- RHSA-2026:67165 Red Hat Security Advisory: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- RHSA-2026:59641 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- RHSA-2026:59635 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 13, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3005 OpenSSL: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026
- ALSA-2026:67165 Important: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- ALSA-2026:67154 Important: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- RHSA-2026:67154 Red Hat Security Advisory: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3642 Meinberg LANTIME: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 14, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23609-1 Security update for openssl-3 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 29, 2026
- RLSA-2026:67165 Important: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Sep 15, 2026
- RLSA-2026:67154 Important: openssl security, bug fix, and enhancement update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Sep 15, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23463-1 Security update for openssl-3 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 14, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-2136 Important: openssl security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Sep 14, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:4039-1 Security update for openssl-3 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 13, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21744-1 Security update for openssl-3 SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 9, 2026
- USN-8678-1 openssl vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Sep 3, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11623-1 libopenssl-3-devel-3.5.3-8.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 28, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3034 FreeBSD Project FreeBSD OS: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Aug 25, 2026
References
- OpenSSL Advisory vendor-advisory
- 4.0.2 git commit patch
- 3.6.4 git commit patch
- 3.5.8 git commit patch
- 3.4.7 git commit patch