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Fencer Vulns
high 7.4

CVE-2021-3450 in the critical feed json

CA certificate check bypass with X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT

published 2021-03-25 5 y ago modified 2026-10-16 24 d ago also BIT-node-2021-3450 , BIT-node-min-2021-3450 , EUVD-2021-1641 , GHSA-8hfj-xrj2-pm22 , RUSTSEC-2021-0056

cvss
7.4
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
18.3%
EPSS 18.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 97%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

The X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT flag enables additional security checks of the certificates present in a certificate chain. It is not set by default. Starting from OpenSSL version 1.1.1h a check to disallow certificates in the chain that have explicitly encoded elliptic curve parameters was added as an additional strict check. An error in the implementation of this check meant that the result of a previous check to confirm that certificates in the chain are valid CA certificates was overwritten. This effectively bypasses the check that non-CA certificates must not be able to issue other certificates. If a "purpose" has been configured then there is a subsequent opportunity for checks that the certificate is a valid CA. All of the named "purpose" values implemented in libcrypto perform this check. Therefore, where a purpose is set the certificate chain will still be rejected even when the strict flag has been used. A purpose is set by default in libssl client and server certificate verification routines, but it can be overridden or removed by an application. In order to be affected, an application must explicitly set the X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT verification flag and either not set a purpose for the certificate verification or, in the case of TLS client or server applications, override the default purpose. OpenSSL versions 1.1.1h and newer are affected by this issue. Users of these versions should upgrade to OpenSSL 1.1.1k. OpenSSL 1.0.2 is not impacted by this issue. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1k (Affected 1.1.1h-1.1.1j).

Patch / fix

  • crates.io openssl-src 111.15.0
  • bitnami node 10.24.1, 12.22.1, 14.16.1, 15.14.0
  • bitnami node-min 10.24.1, 12.22.1, 14.16.1, 15.14.0
  • openssl openssl 1.1.1k
  • oracle jd_edwards_enterpriseone_tools 9.2.6.0
  • oracle secure_backup 18.1.0.1.0
  • sonicwall capture_client 3.6.24
  • sonicwall email_security 10.0.11
  • nodejs node.js 10.24.1, 12.22.1, 14.16.1, 15.14.0
  • sonicwall sma100_firmware 10.2.1.0-17sv
  • openssl Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 1.1.1k-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2021-3450

  • tomcat-native jboss enterprise web server 3.1 1.2.23-24.redhat_24.ep7.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-httpd jboss core services 1 2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-mod_jk jboss core services 1 1.2.48-13.redhat_1.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-mod_md jboss core services 1 1:2.0.8-33.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-mod_ssl jboss core services 1 1:2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-nghttp2 jboss core services 1 1.39.2-37.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-openssl jboss core services 1 1:1.1.1g-6.jbcs.el7
  • jbcs-httpd24-mod_ldap jboss core services 1 2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7

red hat advisories RHSA-2021:1202RHSA-2021:1199RHSA-2021:1195RHSA-2021:1189RHSA-2021:1024

  • nodejs10 SLES for SAP 15 SP1, SLES for SAP 15, SLES 15-LTSS +11 more 10.24.1-1.36.1
  • nodejs12 SLE Module for Web and Scripting 15 SP3, SLE Module for Web and Scripting 15 SP2 12.22.2-4.16.1
  • nodejs12 SLE Module for Web and Scripting 12 12.22.2-1.32.1
  • nodejs10 SLE Module for Web and Scripting 12 10.24.1-1.39.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2021:2353-1SUSE-SU-2021:2327-1SUSE-SU-2021:2326-1SUSE-SU-2021:2323-1

  • openssl-1_1 openSUSE Tumbleweed 1.1.1l-1.2
  • nodejs10 openSUSE Leap 15.2 10.24.1-lp152.2.15.1
  • nodejs12 openSUSE Leap 15.2 12.22.2-lp152.3.15.1
  • nodejs10 openSUSE Leap 15.3 10.24.1-1.36.1
  • nodejs12 openSUSE Leap 15.3 12.22.2-4.16.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2024:11127-1openSUSE-SU-2021:1061-1openSUSE-SU-2021:1059-1openSUSE-SU-2021:2353-1openSUSE-SU-2021:2327-1

  • openssl Rocky Linux 8 1:1.1.1g-15.el8_3

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2021:1024

  • openssl Alpine 3.24, Alpine 3.23, Alpine 3.22 +13 more 1.1.1k-r0
  • openssl3 Alpine 3.16, Alpine 3.15 1.1.1k-r0
  • openssl1.1-compat Alpine 3.18, Alpine 3.17 1.1.1k-r0

alpine advisories ALPINE-CVE-2021-3450

Alpine secdb © Alpine Linux, from https://secdb.alpinelinux.org via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • openssl Arch Linux 1.1.1.k-1

arch linux advisories AVG-1736

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2021-3450 updated cvss 7.4

openssl: CA certificate check bypass with X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT

  • Red Hat JBCS 2.4.37 SP7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1200
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) openssl 1.1.1g-15.el8_3, openssl-libs 1.1.1g-15.el8_3, openssl-perl 1.1.1g-15.el8_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1024
  • Red Hat JBoss Core Services on RHEL 7 Server jbcs-httpd24-httpd 2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-mod_md 2.0.8-33.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-openssl 1.1.1g-6.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-mod_ssl 2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-nghttp2 1.39.2-37.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-mod_ldap 2.4.37-70.jbcs.el7, +15 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1199
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1203
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3.1 for RHEL 7 tomcat-native 1.2.23-24.redhat_24.ep7.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1202
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1196
  • Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.4 for RHEL 7 Server jws5-tomcat-native 1.2.25-4.redhat_4.el7jws Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.4 for RHEL 8 jws5-tomcat-native 1.2.25-4.redhat_4.el8jws
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1195
  • Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 redhat-virtualization-host 4.4.5-20210330.0.el8_3, redhat-virtualization-host-image-update 4.4.5-20210330.0.el8_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2021:1189
show 1 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 openssl, openssl098e, openssl-perl Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 openssl, openssl098e, openssl-libs, openssl-perl Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 compat-openssl10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 openssl, openssl-libs, openssl-perl Red Hat Virtualization 4 Hypervisor for RHEL 8 zip 3.0-23.el8, isl 0.16.1-6.el8, tbb 2018.2-9.el8, cpp 8.3.1-5.1.el8, gcc 8.3.1-5.1.el8, make 4.2.1-10.el8, +16 more Red Hat RHEL 8-based RHEV-H for RHEV 4 (build requirements) imgbased 1.2.18-0.1.el8ev, python3-imgbased 1.2.18-0.1.el8ev, scap-security-guide 0.1.50-1.el8ev, scap-security-guide-rhv 0.1.50-1.el8ev, redhat-release-virtualization-host 4.4.5-4.el8ev, redhat-virtualization-host-image-update-placeholder 4.4.5-4.el8ev
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total
Assessed
31 d ago

Exploit prediction

18.34% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
GitHub 3.1 7.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD 3.1 7.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD 2.0 5.8 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
OSV 3.1 7.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
crates.io openssl-src
>=111.11.0, <111.15.0
111.15.0
bitnami node
>=10.0.0, <10.24.1
>=12.0.0, <12.22.1
>=14.0.0, <14.16.1
>=15.0.0, <15.14.0
10.24.1
12.22.1
14.16.1
15.14.0
bitnami node-min
>=10.0.0, <10.24.1
>=12.0.0, <12.22.1
>=14.0.0, <14.16.1
>=15.0.0, <15.14.0
10.24.1
12.22.1
14.16.1
15.14.0

Affected products

  • OpenSSL OpenSSL

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-295 Improper Certificate Validation
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.