CVE-2026-14957

In FIPS mode, Libreswan's add_decoded_cert() function calls CERT_ExtractPublicKey() and asserts that the result is not NULL. However, CERT_ExtractPublicKey() returns NULL when public key extraction fails, for example if the RSA exponent is set to 0. A remote attacker can send a malformed X.509 certificate in a CERT payload to trigger the assertion, causing the pluto daemon to abort and restart. Continued exploitation causes a denial of service. No remote code execution is possible. Both IKEv1 and IKEv2 are affected. The vulnerability is only exploitable when both the OS and libreswan are running in FIPS mode and at least one CA certificate is loaded. The CERT payload is processed before peer authentication, so no credentials are needed to exploit this. Configurations using only PreSharedKey (PSK) authentication with no CA certificates loaded in the NSS database are not vulnerable.

CVSS v3 7.5 HIGH

7.5^/10

CVSS v3 : HIGH

Vector :

Exploitability : 3.9 / Impact : 3.6

Attack Vector NETWORK

Attack Complexity LOW

Privileges Required NONE

User Interaction NONE

Confidentiality Impact NONE

Integrity Impact NONE

Availability Impact HIGH

Scope UNCHANGED

References

Link	Resource
https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2026-14957/
https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2026-14957/CVE-2026-14957.txt

Configurations

No configuration.

History

No history.

Information

Published : 2026-09-02 03:16

Updated : 2026-09-09 15:44

NVD link : CVE-2026-14957

Mitre link : CVE-2026-14957

CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-14957

JSON object : View

Products Affected

No product.

CWE

CWE-252

Unchecked Return Value

CWE-617

Reachable Assertion

{"id": "CVE-2026-14957", "cveTags": [], "metrics": {"ssvcV203": [{"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "ssvcData": {"id": "CVE-2026-14957", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [{"exploitation": "none"}, {"automatable": "yes"}, {"technicalImpact": "partial"}], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2026-09-02T13:00:08.993590Z"}}], "cvssMetricV31": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df", "cvssData": {"scope": "UNCHANGED", "version": "3.1", "baseScore": 7.5, "attackVector": "NETWORK", "baseSeverity": "HIGH", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H", "integrityImpact": "NONE", "userInteraction": "NONE", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "availabilityImpact": "HIGH", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "confidentialityImpact": "NONE"}, "impactScore": 3.6, "exploitabilityScore": 3.9}]}, "affected": [{"source": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df", "affectedData": [{"repo": "https://github.com/libreswan/libreswan", "vendor": "The Libreswan Project", "product": "libreswan", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "3.0", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.3.1"}, {"status": "unaffected", "version": "5.3.2", "versionType": "semver"}], "packageName": "libreswan", "collectionURL": "https://github.com/libreswan/libreswan", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "programRoutines": [{"name": "add_decoded_cert"}]}]}], "published": "2026-09-02T03:16:47.490", "references": [{"url": "https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2026-14957/", "source": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df"}, {"url": "https://libreswan.org/security/CVE-2026-14957/CVE-2026-14957.txt", "source": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df"}], "vulnStatus": "Deferred", "weaknesses": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df", "description": [{"lang": "en", "value": "CWE-252"}, {"lang": "en", "value": "CWE-617"}]}], "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In FIPS mode, Libreswan's add_decoded_cert() function calls CERT_ExtractPublicKey() and asserts that the result is not NULL. However, CERT_ExtractPublicKey() returns NULL when public key extraction fails, for example if the RSA exponent is set to 0. A remote attacker can send a malformed X.509 certificate in a CERT payload to trigger the assertion, causing the pluto daemon to abort and restart. Continued exploitation causes a denial of service. No remote code execution is possible. Both IKEv1 and IKEv2 are affected. The vulnerability is only exploitable when both the OS and libreswan are running in FIPS mode and at least one CA certificate is loaded. The CERT payload is processed before peer authentication, so no credentials are needed to exploit this. Configurations using only PreSharedKey (PSK) authentication with no CA certificates loaded in the NSS database are not vulnerable."}], "lastModified": "2026-09-09T15:44:20.970", "sourceIdentifier": "d42dc95b-23f1-4e06-9076-20753a0fb0df"}