CVE-2025-69421 NULL Pointer Dereference in PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex function

High 7.5 Published 27 Jan 2026 Updated 15 Oct 2026

Attackers can cause a denial of service by providing a malformed PKCS#12 file to applications using the OpenSSL library.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Over the internet
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2025-69421?

CVE-2025-69421 is a high-severity vulnerability in Openssl Openssl, published on 27 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Issue summary: Processing a malformed PKCS#12 file can trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex() function.

Impact summary: A NULL pointer dereference can trigger a crash which leads to Denial of Service for an application processing PKCS#12 files.

The PKCS12_item_decrypt_d2i_ex() function does not check whether the oct parameter is NULL before dereferencing it. When called from PKCS12_unpack_p7encdata() with a malformed PKCS#12 file, this parameter can be NULL, causing a crash. The vulnerability is limited to Denial of Service and cannot be escalated to achieve code execution or memory disclosure.

Exploiting this issue requires an attacker to provide a malformed PKCS#12 file to an application that processes it. For that reason the issue was assessed as Low severity according to our Security Policy.

The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the PKCS#12 implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are vulnerable to this issue.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-69421?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Openssl Openssl.

How do I fix CVE-2025-69421?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2025-69421 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-69421 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.

All Openssl Openssl vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2025-69421, AZL-75287, AZL-75911, AZL-76113, AZL-76170, AZL-76212 and 23 more.