CVE-2026-42766: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-58mv-qqmv-gqgv
Share
CVSS 5.9
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-42766 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.9) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2026-42766 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-42766
GHSA Identifier GHSA-58mv-qqmv-gqgv
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.9
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.9

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2026-42766

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2026-42766, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Issue summary: A specially crafted password-encrypted CMS message can trigger a NULL pointer dereference during CMS decryption. Impact summary: This NULL pointer dereference leads to an application crash and a Denial of Service. The CMS PasswordRecipientInfo.keyDerivationAlgorithm field is defined as OPTIONAL in the ASN.1 specification and may therefore be absent in specially crafted inputs. During the password-based CMS decryption the OpenSSL CMS implementation dereferences this field without first checking whether it was present. An attacker who supplies such a CMS message to an application performing password-based CMS decryption can trigger an application crash, leading to a Denial of Service. Applications that process password-encrypted CMS messages may be affected. The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the affected code is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

References

NVD — CVE-2026-42766 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42766
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/056d06c1918fafbb98c1c85a02e4c47cc4e199ce
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/12bc26ffb3a2be728c9b86e1cae277de5b33dfa4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/3ff64913615d648cfbb6a6f1cf5529ae7ea829d7
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/ab52d88cb5374876d59aee3c91f9e4ccce2b7ce4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/da26f368732b83e40e9d356fe61c3d3aaab6d2e8
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/056d06c1918fafbb98c1c85a02e4c47cc4e199ce
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/12bc26ffb3a2be728c9b86e1cae277de5b33dfa4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/3ff64913615d648cfbb6a6f1cf5529ae7ea829d7
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/ab52d88cb5374876d59aee3c91f9e4ccce2b7ce4
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/da26f368732b83e40e9d356fe61c3d3aaab6d2e8
openssl-library.org/news/secadv/2026060... WEB
https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260609.txt

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42766?
CVE-2026-42766 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2026-42766?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-42766?
CVE-2026-42766 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-42766?
CVE-2026-42766 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2026-42766?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-58mv-qqmv-gqgv",
  "modified" : "2026-06-10T09:31:56Z",
  "published" : "2026-06-09T18:30:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-42766" ],
  "details" : "Issue summary: A specially crafted password-encrypted CMS message\ncan trigger a NULL pointer dereference during CMS decryption.\n\nImpact summary: This NULL pointer dereference leads to an application crash\nand a Denial of Service.\n\nThe CMS PasswordRecipientInfo.keyDerivationAlgorithm field is defined as\nOPTIONAL in the ASN.1 specification and may therefore be absent in specially\ncrafted inputs. During the password-based CMS decryption the OpenSSL\nCMS implementation dereferences this field without first checking whether it\nwas present.\n\nAn attacker who supplies such a CMS message to an application performing\npassword-based CMS decryption can trigger an application crash, leading to\na Denial of Service.\n\nApplications that process password-encrypted CMS messages may be affected.\n\nThe FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this\nissue, as the affected code is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-42766"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/056d06c1918fafbb98c1c85a02e4c47cc4e199ce"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/12bc26ffb3a2be728c9b86e1cae277de5b33dfa4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/3ff64913615d648cfbb6a6f1cf5529ae7ea829d7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/ab52d88cb5374876d59aee3c91f9e4ccce2b7ce4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/da26f368732b83e40e9d356fe61c3d3aaab6d2e8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/056d06c1918fafbb98c1c85a02e4c47cc4e199ce"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/12bc26ffb3a2be728c9b86e1cae277de5b33dfa4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/3ff64913615d648cfbb6a6f1cf5529ae7ea829d7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/ab52d88cb5374876d59aee3c91f9e4ccce2b7ce4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/openssl/security/commit/da26f368732b83e40e9d356fe61c3d3aaab6d2e8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260609.txt"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-09T17:17:07Z"
  }
}