GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj — openssl-src
HIGHGHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj is a high-severity (CVSS 7.4) Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in openssl-src. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 50.4% (99th percentile). A fix is available for openssl-src — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Read buffer overruns processing ASN.1 strings
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
openssl-srcReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
ASN.1 strings are represented internally within OpenSSL as an ASN1_STRING structure which contains a buffer holding the string data and a field holding the buffer length. This contrasts with normal C strings which are repesented as a buffer for the string data which is terminated with a NUL (0) byte. Although not a strict requirement, ASN.1 strings that are parsed using OpenSSL's own "d2i" functions (and other similar parsing functions) as well as any string whose value has been set with the ASN1_STRING_set() function will additionally NUL terminate the byte array in the ASN1_STRING structure. However, it is possible for applications to directly construct valid ASN1_STRING structures which do not NUL terminate the byte array by directly setting the "data" and "length" fields in the ASN1_STRING array. This can also happen by using the ASN1_STRING_set0() function. Numerous OpenSSL functions that print ASN.1 data have been found to assume that the ASN1_STRING byte array will be NUL terminated, even though this is not guaranteed for strings that have been directly constructed. Where an application requests an ASN.1 structure to be printed, and where that ASN.1 structure contains ASN1_STRINGs that have been directly constructed by the application without NUL terminating the "data" field, then a read buffer overrun can occur. The same thing can also occur during name constraints processing of certificates (for example if a certificate has been directly constructed by the application instead of loading it via the OpenSSL parsing functions, and the certificate contains non NUL terminated ASN1_STRING structures). It can also occur in the X509_get1_email(), X509_REQ_get1_email() and X509_get1_ocsp() functions. If a malicious actor can cause an application to directly construct an ASN1_STRING and then process it through one of the affected OpenSSL functions then this issue could be hit. This might result in a crash (causing a Denial of Service attack). It could also result in the disclosure of private memory contents (such as private keys, or sensitive plaintext). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1j (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1k). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2za (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2y).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | openssl-src | all versions | 111.16.0cargo update -p openssl-src --precise 111.16.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for openssl-src, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update openssl-src to 111.16.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
The following Red Hat products do not ship the affected OpenSSL component but rely on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux to consume them: * Red Hat Satellite * Red Hat Update Infrastructure * Red Hat CloudForms The Red Hat Advanced Cluster Management for Kubernetes is using the vulnerable version of the library, however the…
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| JBoss Core Services for RHEL 8 | jbcs-httpd24-apr-0:1.6.3-107.el8jbcs | RHSA-2021:4614 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | openssl-1:1.0.2k-23.el7_9 | RHSA-2022:0064 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | openssl-1:1.1.1k-5.el8_5 | RHSA-2021:5226 |
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services | openssl | RHSA-2021:4613 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5 | see advisory | RHSA-2021:4863 |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5.6 on RHEL 7 | jws5-tomcat-0:9.0.50-3.redhat_00004.1.el7jws | RHSA-2021:4861 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-q9wj-f4qw-6vfj across crates.io dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.