# CVE-2020-36177: Memory corruption in n/a

> An out-of-bounds write in wolfSSL's RSA PSS padding allows attackers to potentially execute code or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36177, GHSA-68gc-rmhh-c4gg, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-36177

## What is CVE-2020-36177?

CVE-2020-36177 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Wolfssl Wolfssl, published on 6 Jan 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

RsaPad_PSS in wolfcrypt/src/rsa.c in wolfSSL before 4.6.0 has an out-of-bounds write for certain relationships between key size and digest size.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36177?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Wolfssl Wolfssl.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-36177?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2020-36177 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36177 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Wolfssl Wolfssl

- [CVE-2024-5991](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5991/): Buffer overread in domain name matching (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2021-37155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37155/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-2896](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2896/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-2897](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2897/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-2898](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-2898/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36177 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36177 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Wolfssl Wolfssl, published on 6 Jan 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36177 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Wolfssl Wolfssl. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36177/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36177/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36177
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36177
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36177

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36177/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.