CVE-2026-5477
Prefix-substitution forgery via integer overflow in wolfCrypt CMAC
Description
An integer overflow existed in the wolfCrypt CMAC implementation, that could be exploited to forge CMAC tags. The function wc_CmacUpdate used the guard `if (cmac->totalSz != 0)` to skip XOR-chaining on the first block (where digest is all-zeros and the XOR is a no-op). However, totalSz is word32 and wraps to zero after 2^28 block flushes (4 GiB), causing the guard to erroneously discard the live CBC-MAC chain state. Any two messages sharing a common suffix beyond the 4 GiB mark then produce identical CMAC tags, enabling a zero-work prefix-substitution forgery. The fix removes the guard, making the XOR unconditional; the no-op property on the first block is preserved because digest is zero-initialized by wc_InitCmac_ex.
INFO
Published Date :
April 10, 2026, 6:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
April 27, 2026, 5:51 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 50d2cd11-d01a-48ed-9441-5bfce9d63b27 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update the wolfCrypt library.
- Remove the `if (cmac->totalSz != 0)` guard in `wc_CmacUpdate`.
- Ensure XOR is unconditional for CMAC operations.
Public PoC/Exploit Available at Github
CVE-2026-5477 has a 2 public
PoC/Exploit available at Github.
Go to the Public Exploits tab to see the list.
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-2026-5477.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102 | Issue Tracking |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-5477 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-2026-5477
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).
Tracking Vulnerabilities That Appear to be Credited to the Anthropic Research Team
The wolfSSL library is a small, fast, portable implementation of TLS/SSL for embedded devices to the cloud. wolfSSL supports up to TLS 1.3 and DTLS 1.3! Update to wolfSSL 5.9.1 for the latest CVE fixes.
ssl tls cryptography security openssl tls13 dtls https fips cryptography-api embedded-systems encryption iot trusted-execution-environment openssl-alternative c-library wolfssl cipher-suites openssl-api sniffer
C Shell Makefile Tcl Assembly C++ XS Perl C# M4
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-5477 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-5477 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.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Apr. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:wolfssl:wolfssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (including) 5.9.0 Added Reference Type wolfSSL Inc.: https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102 Types: Issue Tracking -
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 10, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description An integer overflow existed in the wolfCrypt CMAC implementation, that could be exploited to forge CMAC tags. The function wc_CmacUpdate used the guard `if (cmac->totalSz != 0)` to skip XOR-chaining on the first block (where digest is all-zeros and the XOR is a no-op). However, totalSz is word32 and wraps to zero after 2^28 block flushes (4 GiB), causing the guard to erroneously discard the live CBC-MAC chain state. Any two messages sharing a common suffix beyond the 4 GiB mark then produce identical CMAC tags, enabling a zero-work prefix-substitution forgery. The fix removes the guard, making the XOR unconditional; the no-op property on the first block is preserved because digest is zero-initialized by wc_InitCmac_ex. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/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 CWE CWE-190 Added Reference https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102