CVE-2026-88822OpenSSL use of uninitialized variable
CVE-2026-88822 is a use of uninitialized variable in OpenSSL, not yet scored.
Why this priority: Not scored yet, and no exploitation signal.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Awaiting Analysis
What it is
A variable is read before it is set, so leftover memory decides what happens.
How it is reached
The record does not say yet how the flaw is reached; the description below is the best guide until it is scored.
What an attacker gains
Its impact has not been scored yet. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet.
What to do
- Upgrade OpenSSL to a fixed version for your release line (4.1.1, 4.0.4, 3.5.10).
Description from NVD
Issue summary: QUIC, when performing automated peer detection, may allow uninitialized stack data to leak into the received address which is then used as the destination for outgoing packets.
Impact summary: Applications using QUIC's automated peer detection mechanism may receive an invalid address, leading to connection loss and disclosure of uninitialized stack data to an attacker observing the outgoing network traffic.
CWE: CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable)
Description: The OpenSSL QUIC stack contains a feature in which, when using an already connected socket, it will auto-detect the peer address during the SSL handshake. This feature uses the getpeername() function, passing a buffer of sufficient length to hold any supported address family, but passes a buffer length that is only sized such that larger addresses, such as IPv6, cannot be retrieved. The getpeername() function however, still returns the full address length, which is accepted as the valid input buffer length, leading to the address buffer containing uninitialized stack data instead of the actual peer address. The invalid peer address is then used as destination for the outgoing packets which leads to a connectivity breakage and a leakage of the uninitialized stack data to passive network observers.
FIPS impact: no The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this CVE as the affected protocol is not implemented in the FIPS module.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
- Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
Trust boundaries in play
- Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does OpenSSL run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those instances are reachable by people you do not trust?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Read more
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.