9.8
CRITICAL CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-63073
Untrusted Sender DN Used as Format String in CMP Response Validation
Description

Issue summary: OpenSSL CMP response validation passed an unexpected response sender distinguished name directly as the format string to `ERR_raise_data()`. Impact summary: A malicious or intercepted CMP endpoint can crash a CMP client that enforces an expected sender or uses a pinned server certificate whose subject becomes the default expected sender. CWE: CWE-134 (Use of Externally-Controlled Format String) Description: When validating a received CMP message, ossl_cmp_msg_check_update() converts the peer-supplied sender distinguished name with X509_NAME_oneline() and passes it directly as the format argument to ERR_raise_data(). Percent characters survive the conversion, so a sender DN such as "CN=%s%n" reaches BIO_vsnprintf() as an attacker-controlled format string with no matching variadic arguments. This path is only reached when the caller configures an expected sender or pins a server certificate, which is the normal configuration for a CMP client validating server responses. Since the attacker controls the format string but none of the variadic arguments, such specifiers as %s and %n dereference or write through unrelated stack contents and crash the client. The reliable consequence is a denial of service, when the response comes from a malicious or intercepted CMP endpoint. There is no controlled memory write, arbitrary-address read, or reliable path to remote code execution. FIPS impact: no No FIPS modules are affected by this issue, as the CMP protocol implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

INFO

Published Date :

Aug. 25, 2026, 1:19 p.m.

Last Modified :

Aug. 31, 2026, 8:17 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-63073 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Openssl openssl
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Solution
Update OpenSSL to patch a format string vulnerability affecting CMP clients.
  • Update OpenSSL to the latest version.
  • Ensure CMP clients validate sender certificates.
  • Configure expected senders carefully.
  • Apply vendor patches promptly.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-63073 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-2026-63073 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-2026-63073 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-63073 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 [email protected]

    Aug. 31, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/0cc20b322639919aa423e90799d9a57c3b4b76ca
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/6a0acc072b4d37a7cac1252a29c1ce1f00c5ec29
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7eb2e3ec9d1d4f35c8022fccd4b03398b3f33e21
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/a7e5a6eea8fd3ccca6b6fbba031a5fbf8a3d93b4
    Added Reference https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txt
    Removed Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/0cc20b322639919aa423e90799d9a57c3b4b76ca
    Removed Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/6a0acc072b4d37a7cac1252a29c1ce1f00c5ec29
    Removed Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7eb2e3ec9d1d4f35c8022fccd4b03398b3f33e21
    Removed Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/a7e5a6eea8fd3ccca6b6fbba031a5fbf8a3d93b4
    Removed Reference https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txt
  • CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    Aug. 31, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-63073', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'yes'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-08-31T19:12:48.434586Z'}
  • New CVE Received by [email protected]

    Aug. 25, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected [{'vendor': 'OpenSSL', 'product': 'OpenSSL', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '4.0.0', 'lessThan': '4.0.2', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '3.6.0', 'lessThan': '3.6.4', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '3.5.0', 'lessThan': '3.5.8', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '3.4.0', 'lessThan': '3.4.7', 'versionType': 'semver'}], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}]
    Added Description Issue summary: OpenSSL CMP response validation passed an unexpected response sender distinguished name directly as the format string to `ERR_raise_data()`. Impact summary: A malicious or intercepted CMP endpoint can crash a CMP client that enforces an expected sender or uses a pinned server certificate whose subject becomes the default expected sender. CWE: CWE-134 (Use of Externally-Controlled Format String) Description: When validating a received CMP message, ossl_cmp_msg_check_update() converts the peer-supplied sender distinguished name with X509_NAME_oneline() and passes it directly as the format argument to ERR_raise_data(). Percent characters survive the conversion, so a sender DN such as "CN=%s%n" reaches BIO_vsnprintf() as an attacker-controlled format string with no matching variadic arguments. This path is only reached when the caller configures an expected sender or pins a server certificate, which is the normal configuration for a CMP client validating server responses. Since the attacker controls the format string but none of the variadic arguments, such specifiers as %s and %n dereference or write through unrelated stack contents and crash the client. The reliable consequence is a denial of service, when the response comes from a malicious or intercepted CMP endpoint. There is no controlled memory write, arbitrary-address read, or reliable path to remote code execution. FIPS impact: no No FIPS modules are affected by this issue, as the CMP protocol implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
    Added CWE CWE-134
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/0cc20b322639919aa423e90799d9a57c3b4b76ca
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/6a0acc072b4d37a7cac1252a29c1ce1f00c5ec29
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7eb2e3ec9d1d4f35c8022fccd4b03398b3f33e21
    Added Reference https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/a7e5a6eea8fd3ccca6b6fbba031a5fbf8a3d93b4
    Added Reference https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txt
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.