CVE-2023-0401 NULL dereference during PKCS7 data verification
Attackers can cause a crash in applications verifying PKCS7 signatures if specific hash algorithms are unavailable, requiring patched OpenSSL versions.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-0401?
CVE-2023-0401 is a high-severity vulnerability in Openssl Openssl, published on 8 Feb 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A NULL pointer can be dereferenced when signatures are being verified on PKCS7 signed or signedAndEnveloped data. In case the hash algorithm used for the signature is known to the OpenSSL library but the implementation of the hash algorithm is not available the digest initialization will fail. There is a missing check for the return value from the initialization function which later leads to invalid usage of the digest API most likely leading to a crash.
The unavailability of an algorithm can be caused by using FIPS enabled configuration of providers or more commonly by not loading the legacy provider.
PKCS7 data is processed by the SMIME library calls and also by the time stamp (TS) library calls. The TLS implementation in OpenSSL does not call these functions however third party applications would be affected if they call these functions to verify signatures on untrusted data.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-0401?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including openssl-src. It affects 2 products.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
openssl-src crates.io | From 300.0.0 | 300.0.12 |
openssl-src crates.io | From 300.0.0 | 300.0.12 |
openssl-src crates.io | From 300.0.0 | 300.0.12 |
Products include Openssl Openssl, Stormshield Stormshield Management Center.
How do I fix CVE-2023-0401?
Upgrade openssl-src to 300.0.12 or later.
Is CVE-2023-0401 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-0401 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Openssl Openssl
Sources
Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2023-0401, CLEANSTART-2026-DW53097, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-0401, GHSA-vrh7-x64v-7vxq, RUSTSEC-2023-0013, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-0401.