Issue summary: Calling PKCS12_get_friendlyname() function on a maliciously crafted PKCS#12 file...

Description

Issue summary: Calling PKCS12_get_friendlyname() function on a maliciously
crafted PKCS#12 file with a BMPString (UTF-16BE) friendly name containing
non-ASCII BMP code point can trigger a one byte write before the allocated
buffer.

Impact summary: The out-of-bounds write can cause a memory corruption
which can have various consequences including a Denial of Service.

The OPENSSL_uni2utf8() function performs a two-pass conversion of a PKCS#12
BMPString (UTF-16BE) to UTF-8. In the second pass, when emitting UTF-8 bytes,
the helper function bmp_to_utf8() incorrectly forwards the remaining UTF-16
source byte count as the destination buffer capacity to UTF8_putc(). For BMP
code points above U+07FF, UTF-8 requires three bytes, but the forwarded
capacity can be just two bytes. UTF8_putc() then returns -1, and this negative
value is added to the output length without validation, causing the
length to become negative. The subsequent trailing NUL byte is then written
at a negative offset, causing write outside of heap allocated buffer.

The vulnerability is reachable via the public PKCS12_get_friendlyname() API
when parsing attacker-controlled PKCS#12 files. While PKCS12_parse() uses a
different code path that avoids this issue, PKCS12_get_friendlyname() directly
invokes the vulnerable function. Exploitation requires an attacker to provide
a malicious PKCS#12 file to be parsed by the application and the attacker
can just trigger a one zero byte write before the allocated buffer.
For that reason the issue was assessed as Low severity according to our
Security Policy.

The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue,
as the PKCS#12 implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0 and 1.1.1 are vulnerable to this issue.

OpenSSL 1.0.2 is not affected by this issue.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-01-27 18:32:16 UTC
Updated
2026-05-12 15:31:14 UTC
NVD published
2026-01-27

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.09% 25.14%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.4 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence