# CVE-2025-15469: 'openssl dgst' one-shot codepath silently truncates inputs >16MB

> The openssl dgst tool silently truncates inputs over 16MB for one-shot algorithms, allowing attackers to modify trailing data without detection during signature verification.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 29 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2025-15469, BELL-CVE-2025-15469, CLEANSTART-2026-ZX69358, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-15469, GHSA-v2vr-926q-29fr, JLSEC-2026-258, MINI-7xm6-82wh-gj9f, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-15469

## What is CVE-2025-15469?

CVE-2025-15469 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openssl Openssl, published on 27 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Issue summary: The 'openssl dgst' command-line tool silently truncates input
data to 16MB when using one-shot signing algorithms and reports success instead
of an error.

Impact summary: A user signing or verifying files larger than 16MB with
one-shot algorithms (such as Ed25519, Ed448, or ML-DSA) may believe the entire
file is authenticated while trailing data beyond 16MB remains unauthenticated.

When the 'openssl dgst' command is used with algorithms that only support
one-shot signing (Ed25519, Ed448, ML-DSA-44, ML-DSA-65, ML-DSA-87), the input
is buffered with a 16MB limit. If the input exceeds this limit, the tool
silently truncates to the first 16MB and continues without signaling an error,
contrary to what the documentation states. This creates an integrity gap where
trailing bytes can be modified without detection if both signing and
verification are performed using the same affected codepath.

The issue affects only the command-line tool behavior. Verifiers that process
the full message using library APIs will reject the signature, so the risk
primarily affects workflows that both sign and verify with the affected
'openssl dgst' command. Streaming digest algorithms for 'openssl dgst' and
library users are unaffected.

The FIPS modules in 3.5 and 3.6 are not affected by this issue, as the
command-line tools are outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

OpenSSL 3.5 and 3.6 are vulnerable to this issue.

OpenSSL 3.4, 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are not affected by this issue.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-15469?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Openssl Openssl.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-15469?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-15469 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-15469 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Openssl Openssl

- [CVE-2009-3245](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-3245/): Null dereference in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-3738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-3738/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-63073](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63073/): Untrusted Sender DN Used as Format String in CMP Response Validation (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-6309](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6309/): Use after free in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-0799](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0799/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-15469 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-15469 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Openssl Openssl, published on 27 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-15469 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Openssl Openssl. 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-2025-15469/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15469/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-15469
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-15469
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-15469

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15469/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.