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Out-of-bounds Read

CVE-2017-3737

Medium
5.9/10

Summary

OpenSSL 1.0.2 (starting from version 1.0.2b) introduced an "error state" mechanism. The intent was that if a fatal error occurred during a handshake then OpenSSL would move into the error state and would immediately fail if you attempted to continue the handshake. This works as designed for the explicit handshake functions ("SSL_do_handshake()", "SSL_accept()" and "SSL_connect()"), however due to a bug it does not work correctly if "SSL_read()" or "SSL_write()" is called directly. In that scenario, if the handshake fails then a fatal error will be returned in the initial function call. If "SSL_read()"/"SSL_write()" is subsequently called by the application for the same SSL object then it will succeed and the data is passed without being decrypted/encrypted directly from the SSL/TLS record layer. In order to exploit this issue an application bug would have to be present that resulted in a call to "SSL_read()"/"SSL_write()" being issued after having already received a fatal error. OpenSSL version 1.0.2b-1.0.2m are affected. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2n. OpenSSL 1.1.0 is not affected.

  • HIGH
  • NETWORK
  • NONE
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • HIGH
  • NONE

CWE-125 - Out-of-Bounds Read

Out-of-bounds read is a vulnerability that allows access to memory beyond the authorized accessible location. Such a vulnerability compromises the confidentiality of the trusted environment in the application and enables an attacker to launch further attacks by leveraging the exposed information.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published