CVE-2026-21218: System.Security.Cryptography.Cose Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qvhc-9v3j-5rfw
CWE-166
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-21218 is a HIGH microsoft security advisory cve-2026-21218 | vulnerability (CWE-166: Improper Handling of Missing Special Element) affecting System.Security.Cryptography.Cose libraries in the NuGet ecosystem. The issue involves microsoft security advisory cve-2026-21218 | .net security feature bypass vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 8.0.2, 9.0.13, 10.0.3.

CVE-2026-21218 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-21218
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qvhc-9v3j-5rfw
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-166: Improper Handling of Missing Special Element
Affected Product System.Security.Cryptography.Cose
Package Ecosystem NuGet
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2026-21218

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

System.Security.Cryptography.Cose fixed: 8.0.2
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 8.0.2
System.Security.Cryptography.Cose fixed: 9.0.13
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 9.0.13
System.Security.Cryptography.Cose fixed: 10.0.3
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 10.0.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for System.Security.Cryptography.Cose

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-21218, inspect your project dependencies for System.Security.Cryptography.Cose:

inspect dependencies for System.Security.Cryptography.Cose

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of System.Security.Cryptography.Cose in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 8.0.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-166: Improper Handling of Missing Special Element, where the product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an expected special element is missing. In System.Security.Cryptography.Cose, 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

# Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | .NET Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability ## <a name="executive-summary"></a>Executive summary Microsoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about a vulnerability in .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, and .NET 10.0. This advisory also provides guidance on what developers can do to update their applications to remove this vulnerability. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious payload that bypasses the security checks in the affected System.Security.Cryptography.Cose versions, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data manipulation. ## Announcement Announcement for this issue can be found at https://github.com/dotnet/announcements/issues/380 ## <a name="mitigation-factors"></a>Mitigation factors If your application does not use System.Security.Cryptography.Cose it is not affected. By default, no .NET applications reference this component. ## <a name="affected-packages"></a>Affected Packages The vulnerability affects any Microsoft .NET project if it uses any of affected packages versions listed below ### <a name=".NET 10"></a>.NET 10 Package name | Affected version | Patched version ------------ | ---------------- | ------------------------- [System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose) | >= 10.0.0, <= 10.0.2 | 10.0.3 ### <a name=".NET 9"></a>.NET 9 Package name | Affected version | Patched version ------------ | ---------------- | ------------------------- [System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose) | >= 9.0.0, <= 9.0.12 | 9.0.13 ### <a name=".NET 8"></a>.NET 8 Package name | Affected version | Patched version ------------ | ---------------- | ------------------------- [System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose) | >= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.1 | 8.0.2 ## Advisory FAQ ### <a name="how-affected"></a>How do I know if I am affected? If an affected package listed in [affected software](#affected-software) or [affected packages](#affected-packages), you're exposed to the vulnerability. ### <a name="how-fix"></a>How do I fix the issue? To update the Using the System.Security.Cryptography.Cose NuGet package, use one of the following methods: NuGet Package Manager UI in Visual Studio: - Open your project in Visual Studio. - Right-click on your project in Solution Explorer and select "Manage NuGet Packages..." or navigate to "Project > Manage NuGet Packages". - In the NuGet Package Manager window, select the "Updates" tab. This tab lists packages with available updates from your configured package sources. - Select the package(s) you wish to update. You can choose a specific version from the dropdown or update to the latest available version. - Click the "Update" button. Using the NuGet Package Manager Console in Visual Studio: - Open your project in Visual Studio. - Navigate to "Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console". - To update a specific package to its latest version, use the following Update-Package command: ``` Update-Package -Id System.Security.Cryptography.Cose ``` Using the .NET CLI (Command Line Interface): - Open a terminal or command prompt in your project's directory. - To update a specific package to its latest version, use the following add package command: ``` dotnet add package System.Security.Cryptography.Cose ``` Once you have updated the nuget package reference you must recompile and deploy your application. Additionally we recommend you update your runtime and/or SDKs, but it is not necessary to patch the vulnerability. ## Other Information ### Reporting Security Issues If you have found a potential security issue in a supported version of .NET, please report it to the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) via the [MSRC Researcher Portal](https://msrc.microsoft.com/report/vulnerability/new). Further information can be found in the MSRC [Report an Issue FAQ](https://www.microsoft.com/msrc/faqs-report-an-issue). Security reports made through MSRC may qualify for the Microsoft .NET Bounty. Details of the Microsoft .NET Bounty Program including terms and conditions are at https://aka.ms/corebounty. ### Support You can ask questions about this issue on GitHub in the .NET GitHub organization. The main repos are located at https://github.com/dotnet/runtime. The Announcements repo (https://github.com/dotnet/Announcements) will contain this bulletin as an issue and will include a link to a discussion issue. You can ask questions in the linked discussion issue. ### Disclaimer The information provided in this advisory is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply. ### External Links [CVE-2026-21218](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-21218) ### Acknowledgements vcsjones with GitHub ### Revisions V1.0 (February 10, 2026): Advisory published.

CVE-2026-21218 Affected System.Security.Cryptography.Cose Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
8.0.29.0.1310.0.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
System.Security.Cryptography.Cose
NuGet
≥ 8.0.0
< 8.0.2
8.0.2
System.Security.Cryptography.Cose
NuGet
≥ 9.0.0
< 9.0.13
9.0.13
System.Security.Cryptography.Cose
NuGet
≥ 10.0.0
< 10.0.3
10.0.3

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-21218?
CVE-2026-21218 is a security vulnerability in System.Security.Cryptography.Cose involving Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | .NET Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability under CWE-166: Improper Handling of Missing Special Element.
Which System.Security.Cryptography.Cose versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 8.0.2, 9.0.13, 10.0.3 across affected packages: System.Security.Cryptography.Cose.
What version fixes CVE-2026-21218?
Upgrading to 8.0.2, 9.0.13, 10.0.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is System.Security.Cryptography.Cose affected?
Yes, System.Security.Cryptography.Cose is affected in releases prior to 8.0.2, 9.0.13, 10.0.3. Upgrade your dependency to 8.0.2, 9.0.13, 10.0.3 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-21218?
CVE-2026-21218 is classified under CWE-166: Improper Handling of Missing Special Element (The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an expected special element is missing.).
How can I check NuGet dependencies for CVE-2026-21218?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for System.Security.Cryptography.Cose'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-qvhc-9v3j-5rfw",
  "modified" : "2026-02-13T19:43:22Z",
  "published" : "2026-02-10T21:32:18Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-21218" ],
  "summary" : "Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | .NET Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability",
  "details" : "# Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | .NET Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability\n\n## <a name=\"executive-summary\"></a>Executive summary\n\nMicrosoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about a vulnerability in .NET 8.0, .NET 9.0, and .NET 10.0. This advisory also provides guidance on what developers can do to update their applications to remove this vulnerability.\n\nAn attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious payload that bypasses the security checks in the affected System.Security.Cryptography.Cose versions, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data manipulation.\n\n## Announcement\n\nAnnouncement for this issue can be found at https://github.com/dotnet/announcements/issues/380\n\n## <a name=\"mitigation-factors\"></a>Mitigation factors\n\nIf your application does not use System.Security.Cryptography.Cose it is not affected. By default, no .NET applications reference this component.\n\n## <a name=\"affected-packages\"></a>Affected Packages\nThe vulnerability affects any Microsoft .NET project if it uses any of affected packages versions listed below\n\n### <a name=\".NET 10\"></a>.NET 10\nPackage name | Affected version | Patched version\n------------ | ---------------- | -------------------------\n[System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose)               | >= 10.0.0, <= 10.0.2 | 10.0.3\n\n### <a name=\".NET 9\"></a>.NET 9\nPackage name | Affected version | Patched version\n------------ | ---------------- | -------------------------\n[System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose)               | >= 9.0.0, <= 9.0.12 | 9.0.13\n\n### <a name=\".NET 8\"></a>.NET 8\nPackage name | Affected version | Patched version\n------------ | ---------------- | -------------------------\n[System.Security.Cryptography.Cose](https://www.nuget.org/packages/System.Security.Cryptography.Cose)               | >= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.1 | 8.0.2\n\n## Advisory FAQ\n\n### <a name=\"how-affected\"></a>How do I know if I am affected?\n\nIf an affected package listed in [affected software](#affected-software) or [affected packages](#affected-packages), you're exposed to the vulnerability.\n\n### <a name=\"how-fix\"></a>How do I fix the issue?\n\nTo update the Using the System.Security.Cryptography.Cose NuGet package, use one of the following methods:\n\nNuGet Package Manager UI in Visual Studio:\n- Open your project in Visual Studio.\n- Right-click on your project in Solution Explorer and select \"Manage NuGet Packages...\" or navigate to \"Project > Manage NuGet Packages\".\n- In the NuGet Package Manager window, select the \"Updates\" tab. This tab lists packages with available updates from your configured package sources.\n- Select the package(s) you wish to update. You can choose a specific version from the dropdown or update to the latest available version.\n- Click the \"Update\" button.\n\nUsing the NuGet Package Manager Console in Visual Studio:\n- Open your project in Visual Studio.\n- Navigate to \"Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Package Manager Console\".\n- To update a specific package to its latest version, use the following Update-Package command:\n\n```\nUpdate-Package -Id System.Security.Cryptography.Cose\n```\n\nUsing the .NET CLI (Command Line Interface):\n- Open a terminal or command prompt in your project's directory.\n- To update a specific package to its latest version, use the following add package command:\n\n```\ndotnet add package System.Security.Cryptography.Cose\n```\n\nOnce you have updated the nuget package reference you must recompile and deploy your application. Additionally we recommend you update your runtime and/or SDKs, but it is not necessary to patch the vulnerability.\n\n## Other Information\n\n### Reporting Security Issues\n\nIf you have found a potential security issue in a supported version of .NET, please report it to the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) via the [MSRC Researcher Portal](https://msrc.microsoft.com/report/vulnerability/new). Further information can be found in the MSRC [Report an Issue FAQ](https://www.microsoft.com/msrc/faqs-report-an-issue).\n\nSecurity reports made through MSRC may qualify for the Microsoft .NET Bounty. Details of the Microsoft .NET Bounty Program including terms and conditions are at https://aka.ms/corebounty.\n\n### Support\n\nYou can ask questions about this issue on GitHub in the .NET GitHub organization. The main repos are located at https://github.com/dotnet/runtime. The Announcements repo (https://github.com/dotnet/Announcements) will contain this bulletin as an issue and will include a link to a discussion issue. You can ask questions in the linked discussion issue.\n\n### Disclaimer\n\nThe information provided in this advisory is provided \"as is\" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.\n\n### External Links\n\n[CVE-2026-21218](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-21218)\n\n### Acknowledgements\n\nvcsjones with GitHub\n\n### Revisions\n\nV1.0 (February 10, 2026): Advisory published.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "NuGet",
      "name" : "System.Security.Cryptography.Cose"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "8.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.0.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 8.0.1"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "NuGet",
      "name" : "System.Security.Cryptography.Cose"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "9.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "9.0.13"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 9.0.12"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "NuGet",
      "name" : "System.Security.Cryptography.Cose"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "10.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.0.3"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 10.0.2"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dotnet/runtime/security/advisories/GHSA-qvhc-9v3j-5rfw"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-21218"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/dotnet/runtime"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-21218"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-166" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-02-10T21:32:18Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-02-10T18:16:22Z"
  }
}