OpenSSL 3.0.7 released (UPDATEDx2)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Nov 01, 2022,
updated Nov 02, 2022

The much-anticipated OpenSSL 3.0.7 release, which fixes some high-risk security problems, is available. The release notes list two vulnerabilities (CVE-2022-3786 and CVE-2022-3602) that have not yet been documented on the OpenSSL vulnerabilities page. LWN commenter mat2 has provided the relevant information, though. It is worth updating quickly, but many sites do not appear to be at immediate risk.

Read on

UPDATE

2 more (lots more to come for sure)

• OpenSSL 3.0.7 Fixes Two High-CVEs with Buffer Overflow

  The highly anticipated OpenSSL 3.0.7 is now released, fixing two high-severity CVEs. All the major Linux distributions across desktops and, most importantly, server admins have been waiting for this fix since it was reported last week by the OpenSSL team. Due to the criticality of this package, some distro releases got delayed (such as Fedora 37), and probably some patching activities across the industry.

  Both the high severity fixes are due to buffer overrun, which impacts the entire OpenSSL 3.0.0 series (i.e. from 3.0.0 to 3.0.6). Alarming, it may sound, but these two vulnerabilities have been out in the wild for almost a year since the 3.0.0 release in 2021.

  The first CVE-2022-3786 triggers when a malicious email address with arbitrary payload with character “.” (decimal 46). The second vulnerability, CVE-2022-3602, also deals with another payload with the same email address in name constraints, checking for X.509 certificates.

• OpenSSL Releases Patch for 2 New High-Severity Vulnerabilities

  The OpenSSL project has rolled out fixes to contain two high-severity flaws in its widely used cryptography library that could result in a denial-of-service (DoS) and remote code execution.

  The issues, tracked as CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, have been described as buffer overrun vulnerabilities that can be triggered during X.509 certificate verification by supplying a specially-crafted email address.

  "In a TLS client, this can be triggered by connecting to a malicious server," OpenSSL said in an advisory for CVE-2022-3786. "In a TLS server, this can be triggered if the server requests client authentication and a malicious client connects."

More from ITwire now:

• iTWire - OpenSSL patches released, UK sec expert's judgment justified

  The OpenSSL Project has released fixes for two vulnerabilities in the open-source cryptographic library, with the severity of both rated "high". The accompanying documentation has justified the advice of British security expert Kevin Beaumont not to get carried away by hype over the expected announcement, as iTWirereported.

  The project said it had released advisories about "CVE-2022-3786 (“X.509 Email Address Variable Length Buffer Overflow”) and CVE-2022-3602 (“X.509 Email Address 4-byte Buffer Overflow”)".

Now CISA:

• OpenSSL Releases Security Update | CISA

  OpenSSL has released a security advisory to address two vulnerabilities, CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, affecting OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 through 3.0.6.

  Both CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786 can cause a denial of service. According to OpenSSL, a cyber threat actor leveraging CVE-2022-3786, "can craft a malicious email address to overflow four attacker-controlled bytes on the stack. This buffer overflow could result in a crash (causing a denial of service) or potentially remote code execution," allowing them to take control of an affected system.

SJVN:

• OpenSSL dodges a security bullet | ZDNET [Ed: No, SJVN, it dodges a FUD campaign]

  At first, it looked like the OpenSSL 3.x security bug was going to be truly awful. While it was feared to be a critical error that could lead to remote code execution (RCE), upon a closer examination it turned out to be not so horrid after all.

Another take:

"only 1.5% of all OpenSSL instances were found to be impacted by this security flaw"

• - OpenSSL fixes two high severity vulnerabilities - OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 to 3.0.6 are vulnerable – OpenSSL 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 NOT affected | dwaves.de

  BUT: only 1.5% of all OpenSSL instances were found to be impacted by this security flaw

A couple more:

• OpenSSL fixes two high severity vulnerabilities, what you need to know

  Cloud security firm Wiz.io also said that only 1.5% of all OpenSSL instances were found to be impacted by this security flaw after analyzing deployments across major cloud environments (i.e., AWS, GCP, Azure, OCI, and Alibaba Cloud).

• OpenSSL vulnerabilities: Everything you need to know | Wiz Blog

It is "alarm fatigue":

• OpenSSL gave everyone alarm fatigue

  So, the OpenSSL security issue embargo ended today and the patches dropped [sic]. Based on the contents of the security issue, the difficulty of exploiting it in practice, and the fact that most Linux distributions take basic precautions to prevent it from being a viable attack vector: this issue doesn't affect nearly any users of OpenSSL in the real world.

From the official site:

• CVE-2022-3786 and CVE-2022-3602: X.509 Email Address Buffer Overflows

  Today we published an advisory about CVE-2022-3786 (“X.509 Email Address Variable Length Buffer Overflow”) and CVE-2022-3602 (“X.509 Email Address 4-byte Buffer Overflow”).

  Please read the advisory for specific details about these CVEs and how they might impact you. This blog post will address some common questions that we expect to be asked about these CVEs.

  Q: The 3.0.7 release was announced as fixing a CRITICAL vulnerability, but CVE-2022-3786 and CVE-2022-3602 are both HIGH. What happened to the CRITICAL vulnerability?

• OpenSSL Security Advisory [01 November 2022]

  Pre-announcements of CVE-2022-3602 described this issue as CRITICAL. Further analysis based on some of the mitigating factors described above have led this to be downgraded to HIGH. Users are still encouraged to upgrade to a new version as soon as possible.

  In a TLS client, this can be triggered by connecting to a malicious server. In a TLS server, this can be triggered if the server requests client authentication and a malicious client connects.

Another piece:

• OpenSSL dodges a bullet

  However, after initially rating the vulnerabilities as “critical” in a heads-up advisory last week, the new vulnerabilities have been downgraded to a severity rating of “high,” though administrators are still being urged to patch systems quickly.