CVE-2026-17510 Null dereference in Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12
A NULL pointer dereference in Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 allows attackers to crash applications processing malicious PKCS#12 files.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-17510?
CVE-2026-17510 is a high-severity vulnerability in JONASBN Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12, published on 9 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Crypt::OpenSSL::PKCS12 versions before 1.98 for Perl allow a NULL pointer dereference in print_attribute via a zero length BMPSTRING attribute.
print_attribute() sizes the destination buffer for a BMPSTRING attribute from its declared byte length with `Renew(*attribute, length, char)`. A zero length attribute makes that a zero size reallocation, which Perl implements as a free returning NULL, so the buffer pointer becomes NULL, the following `strncpy` copies nothing, and the caller dereferences NULL in the `strlen()` it passes to `newSVpvn()`. A zero length BMPSTRING is even length, so the ASN.1 decoder accepts it and the value reaches this code. The UTF8STRING, OCTET STRING and BIT STRING arms size on `length + 1` or `length * 4 + 1` and are unaffected.
Any caller that passes an untrusted PKCS#12 file to info_as_hash() can crash the process. info() prints attribute values directly without sizing a buffer and is unaffected.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-17510?
How do I fix CVE-2026-17510?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Is CVE-2026-17510 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-17510 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-17510, GHSA-h64x-hp84-8636, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-17510.