liboqs: Heap out-of-bounds read in LMS/HSS signature verification via unvalidated signature length (hss_verify_inc.c:215)

published 2026-11-06 2 d ago modified 2026-11-06 2 d ago also EUVD-2026-118512

cvss: 5.3; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.3%; EPSS 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 21%
public exploits: 0; none known

liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. From 0.11.0 through 0.16.0, builds configured with OQS_ENABLE_SIG_STFL_LMS=ON can read beyond a caller-supplied signature buffer when an untrusted truncated LMS or HSS-LMS signature reaches OQS_SIG_STFL_verify or OQS_SIG_STFL_alg_lms_verify. In hss_validate_signature_init() in src/sig_stfl/lms/external/hss_verify_inc.c, consumed-length checks do not ensure that the bottom-level q and C fields remain available, allowing up to 32 bytes to be read past the buffer. In version 0.16.0, is_hss_public_key() also reads at offset 8 after only a four-byte length check, allowing an over-read of up to eight bytes. No valid signature is required, but the public key must be syntactically plausible. The read data is consumed only by an internal hash and is not exposed, so the supported impact is a possible verifier crash and denial of service, not memory disclosure or acceptance of an invalid signature. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in version 0.17.0.

Patch / fix

links 2

github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs@df3eb80 commit
github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs#2507 pull request

Exploit prediction

0.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 21% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	5.3	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Affected products

open-quantum-safe liboqs

Classification

Weakness

CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read

References

Sources

CVE List CVE-2026-104254
NVD CVE-2026-104254

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.

Summary