CVE-2026-95691OpenSSL use after free
CVE-2026-95691 is a use after free in OpenSSL, not yet scored.
Why this priority: Not scored yet, and no exploitation signal.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Awaiting Analysis
What it is
Code keeps using memory after releasing it, so an attacker who refills that memory can steer execution.
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: A retransmitted QUIC CRYPTO frame can release packet storage while the TLS record layer retains a direct pointer into that storage causing use after free.
Impact summary: A malicious QUIC server can cause a heap-use-after-free read in the OpenSSL QUIC client. The server can also identify one allocator-adjacent byte through the client's protected Handshake response.
CWE: CWE-416: Use After Free
Description: During CRYPTO stream processing, a pointer into the first frame's memory on the stream is lent to the TLS handshake processing. The memory must remain stable until it is processed and released. However the processing of retransmitted CRYPTO frames could release the memory if the retransmitted frame fully overlapped the existing frame. This then causes use-after-free read when the TLS handshake processing continues.
The use-after-free read can lead to a Denial-of-Service of the client application or a minor leak of information about the heap memory contents that might be overwritten with other data, subsequently allocated by the application, to the peer.
FIPS impact: no The FIPS module is not affected as the QUIC implementation is outside of the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
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.