CVE-2026-16317
Silent Drop of TLS 1.3 Encrypted Records in s2n-tls
Description
Missing validation of the outer content_type byte on TLS 1.3 encrypted records in s2n-tls allows an active man-in-the-middle to silently discard individual application data records without either endpoint detecting the modification. RFC 8446 Section 5.2 requires that the outer content_type of all encrypted TLS 1.3 records must be application_data (0x17). The s2n-tls AEAD implementation hardcodes this value in the additional authenticated data rather than using the actual wire byte, so the outer content_type is not covered by the authentication tag. This enables selective suppression of application data. In HTTP pipelining scenarios, dropping a TLS record containing an HTTP request can cause request/response desynchronization, where subsequent responses are delivered to the wrong requests. In write-heavy workloads, a dropped record containing a write request can result in undetectable data loss when the client interprets a subsequent success response as confirmation of the dropped write. All TLS 1.3 connections are affected. Both TLS clients and servers are affected. TLS 1.2 and QUIC connections are not affected. We recommend you upgrade s2n-tls to version v1.7.6
INFO
Published Date :
July 21, 2026, 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 22, 2026, 8:37 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
ff89ba41-3aa1-4d27-914a-91399e9639e5
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | ff89ba41-3aa1-4d27-914a-91399e9639e5 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | ff89ba41-3aa1-4d27-914a-91399e9639e5 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | ff89ba41-3aa1-4d27-914a-91399e9639e5 |
Solution
- Upgrade s2n-tls to version v1.7.6.
- Ensure TLS 1.3 records validate outer content_type.
- Verify AEAD implementation uses actual wire byte.
- Patch affected TLS clients and servers.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-16317.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-062-aws/ | |
| https://github.com/aws/s2n-tls/releases/tag/v1.7.6 | |
| https://github.com/aws/s2n-tls/security/advisories/GHSA-684c-v35q-fvx7 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-16317 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-16317
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-16317 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-16317 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jul. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-16317', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'partial'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-07-22T19:31:33.777230Z'} -
New CVE Received by ff89ba41-3aa1-4d27-914a-91399e9639e5
Jul. 21, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'vendor': 'AWS', 'product': 's2n-tls', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '0', 'versionType': 'custom', 'lessThanOrEqual': '1.7.5'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description Missing validation of the outer content_type byte on TLS 1.3 encrypted records in s2n-tls allows an active man-in-the-middle to silently discard individual application data records without either endpoint detecting the modification. RFC 8446 Section 5.2 requires that the outer content_type of all encrypted TLS 1.3 records must be application_data (0x17). The s2n-tls AEAD implementation hardcodes this value in the additional authenticated data rather than using the actual wire byte, so the outer content_type is not covered by the authentication tag. This enables selective suppression of application data. In HTTP pipelining scenarios, dropping a TLS record containing an HTTP request can cause request/response desynchronization, where subsequent responses are delivered to the wrong requests. In write-heavy workloads, a dropped record containing a write request can result in undetectable data loss when the client interprets a subsequent success response as confirmation of the dropped write. All TLS 1.3 connections are affected. Both TLS clients and servers are affected. TLS 1.2 and QUIC connections are not affected. We recommend you upgrade s2n-tls to version v1.7.6 Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:L/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:L Added CWE CWE-354 Added Reference https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-062-aws/ Added Reference https://github.com/aws/s2n-tls/releases/tag/v1.7.6 Added Reference https://github.com/aws/s2n-tls/security/advisories/GHSA-684c-v35q-fvx7