7.5High

Openssl Openssl

CVE-2026-14457

Issue summary: In a server or client configuration with RFC7250 Raw Public Keys (RPKs) enabled, and only the private key (with no associated certificate) configured locally, a NULL pointer dereference may occur when the remote peer solicits raw public keys and also sends the typically omitted "signature_algorithms_cert" TLS extension. Impact summary: The impact is limited to a possible Denial of Service as a result of an application abort, no data disclosure or remote command execution are possible. CWE: CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference Description: While a passing comment in sample code in the documentation suggests that key-only RPK configurations are supported, the best-practice RPK configuration is to always configure a corresponding certificate (possibly self-signed or signed by any convenient CA). When the private key is configured along with a matching certificate, the "signature_algorithms_cert" extension is handled reliably even without the fix, and peer clients or servers that don't support raw public keys may be able to complete a TLS connection by pinning or verifying the corresponding certificate or its public key. Deployments that prefer to configure just a private key with no certificate need to upgrade to an updated release as noted below. FIPS impact: no No FIPS modules are affected by this issue, as the SSL protocol implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

What this means for your business

  • It affects Openssl. It matters if your company, or a supplier that handles your data, runs it.
  • An attacker can use it remotely, over a network, without a login, and without anyone at your company clicking anything.
  • FIRST's prediction model gives it a 1.0% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 60% of all known flaws.

What to do

  1. 1Check whether your company or your suppliers run Openssl, and which version. The affected versions are listed further down this page.
  2. 2If you do, apply the vendor's fix. A patch or vendor advisory has been published.

Not sure if your company is exposed?

Fastnexa’s certified penetration testers can check whether attackers could use this flaw, or others like it, against your websites, apps and network. The full test is free for our first 10 founding clients until 31 December 2026.

Scoring

CVSS
7.5 (v3.1)
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness
CWE-476
Assigned by
openssl-security@openssl.org

Dates

Published
2026-08-25
Last modified
2026-09-11
Sources
NVD

Affected products

  • Openssl Openssl3.4.0 - 3.4.7, 3.5.0 - 3.5.8, 3.6.0 - 3.6.4, 4.0.0 - 4.0.2

As listed in the NVD configuration data. Not a statement about your estate.

References