GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28 aws-kms-tls-auth vulnerable to memory overallocation
A memory overallocation flaw in aws-kms-tls-auth allows remote attackers to cause denial of service via crafted TLS handshakes.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28?
GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28 is a denial of service vulnerability in aws-kms-tls-auth, published on 3 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Summary
aws-kms-tls-auth is an optional utility for s2n-tls that enables customers to use AWS KMS keys as part of the PSK extension field in a TLS 1.3 handshake. An issue exists in this library that can lead to overallocation of memory potentially resulting in a denial of service.
Impact
The PSK extension field in TLS 1.3 uses length-prefixed lists to encode variable-length data. aws-kms-tls-auth interprets the length prefix incorrectly resulting in additional memory allocation.
s2n-tls limits ClientHello messages to 64 KB. Due to this issue, the server may allocate up to 10× the received size, meaning a single message could trigger an allocation of up to 640 KB. Repeated allocations of this size could exhaust server resources and lead to a denial-of-service.
No AWS services are affected. Applications should continue to follow best practices by limiting the number of in-flight handshakes and concurrent connections. Applications using the aws-kms-tls-auth crate should upgrade to version 0.0.3.
Impacted versions: < 0.0.3
Patches
This issue has been addressed in aws-kms-tls-auth v0.0.3 [1].
Workarounds
There is no workaround. Applications using aws-kms-tls-auth should upgrade to the most recent release.
Acknowledgement
s2n-tls would like to thank Joshua Rogers (https://joshua.hu/) of AISLE Research Team (https://aisle.com/) for collaborating on this issue through the coordinated disclosure process.
If there are any questions or comments about this advisory, contact AWS/Amazon Security via the vulnerability reporting page [2] or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
[1] https://crates.io/crates/aws-kms-tls-auth/0.0.3 [2] Vulnerability reporting page: https://aws.amazon.com/security/vulnerability-reporting
Which versions are affected by GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including aws-kms-tls-auth.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
aws-kms-tls-auth crates.io | All versions | 0.0.3 |
aws-kms-tls-auth crates.io | All versions | 0.0.3 |
How do I fix GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28?
Upgrade aws-kms-tls-auth to 0.0.3 or later.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of GHSA-5whh-4q9j-7v28 in the wild and no public exploit code.