CVE-2024-5535
MySQL vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

CVE-2024-5535 affects the OpenSSL API function SSLselectnext_proto, where calling this function with an empty supported client protocols buffer may cause a crash or memory contents to be sent to the peer. The vulnerability was discovered on May 2, 2024, and affects OpenSSL versions 3.3, 3.2, 3.1, 3.0, 1.1.1, and 1.0.2. This issue has been assessed as Low severity due to its limited scope and exploitation requirements (OpenSSL Advisory).

Technical details

The vulnerability occurs in the SSLselectnext_proto function, which is used by TLS applications supporting ALPN (Application Layer Protocol Negotiation) or NPN (Next Protocol Negotiation). When called with a zero-length client list, the function fails to notice this condition and returns memory immediately following the client list pointer, reporting no overlap in the lists. The function is typically called from a server-side application callback for ALPN or a client-side application callback for NPN. The FIPS modules in versions 3.3, 3.2, 3.1, and 3.0 are not affected by this issue (OpenSSL Advisory).

Impact

The buffer overread vulnerability can lead to multiple consequences, including unexpected application behavior, crashes, and potential disclosure of up to 255 bytes of arbitrary private data from memory to the peer, resulting in a loss of confidentiality. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 9.1 CRITICAL by CISA-ADP with vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H (NVD).

Mitigation and workarounds

Due to the low severity of this issue, OpenSSL is not issuing immediate new releases. The fix will be included in future releases: OpenSSL 3.3.2, 3.2.3, 3.1.7, and 3.0.15. Premium support customers will receive fixes in versions 1.1.1za and 1.0.2zk. The fixes are available in commits e86ac436f0 (3.3), 99fb785a5f (3.2), 4ada436a19 (3.1), and cf6f91f612 (3.0) in the OpenSSL git repository (OpenSSL Advisory).

Community reactions

Security researchers have commented on OpenSSL's tendency to maintain legacy features. Hanno Böck specifically mentioned this vulnerability in a discussion about deprecating old protocols, suggesting that the NPN code (affected by CVE-2024-5535) should be removed as it was replaced by ALPN a decade ago (OSS Security).

Additional resources


SourceThis report was generated using AI

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