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…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.98%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
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.
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.98% probability · 60th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-476
- Affected
- openssl/openssl
- Source
- openssl-security@openssl.org
References
- https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/1e8c398db67404babd3e5af999bb6bd86f720c76Patch
- https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/581aaa0f0a35d214740f0fe1f5283ec41f1212e1Patch
- https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/d0af20478688a6aa2f59d61caa3f82136b181d7fPatch
- https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/dad836b071da6579510c968615848ba03cac593bPatch
- https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txtVendor Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.