CVE-2021-3711

SM2 Decryption Buffer Overflow

Description

In order to decrypt SM2 encrypted data an application is expected to call the API function EVP_PKEY_decrypt(). Typically an application will call this function twice. The first time, on entry, the "out" parameter can be NULL and, on exit, the "outlen" parameter is populated with the buffer size required to hold the decrypted plaintext. The application can then allocate a sufficiently sized buffer and call EVP_PKEY_decrypt() again, but this time passing a non-NULL value for the "out" parameter. A bug in the implementation of the SM2 decryption code means that the calculation of the buffer size required to hold the plaintext returned by the first call to EVP_PKEY_decrypt() can be smaller than the actual size required by the second call. This can lead to a buffer overflow when EVP_PKEY_decrypt() is called by the application a second time with a buffer that is too small. A malicious attacker who is able present SM2 content for decryption to an application could cause attacker chosen data to overflow the buffer by up to a maximum of 62 bytes altering the contents of other data held after the buffer, possibly changing application behaviour or causing the application to crash. The location of the buffer is application dependent but is typically heap allocated. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1l (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1k).

Category

9.8
CVSS
Severity: Critical
CVSS 3.1 •
CVSS 2.0 •
EPSS 2.57% Top 20%
Vendor Advisory debian.org Vendor Advisory gentoo.org Vendor Advisory gentoo.org Vendor Advisory openssl.org
Affected: OpenSSL OpenSSL
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2021-3711?
CVE-2021-3711 has been scored as a critical severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2021-3711?
To fix CVE-2021-3711, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2021-3711 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2021-3711 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~3% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2021-3711?
CVE-2021-3711 affects OpenSSL OpenSSL.
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