CVE-2026-21218: System.Security.Cryptography.Cose Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2026-21218 | Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-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
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.
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 8.0.2
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 9.0.13
Upgrade System.Security.Cryptography.Cose to 10.0.3
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
CVE-2026-21218 Affected System.Security.Cryptography.Cose Versions
3 component(s)| 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?
Which System.Security.Cryptography.Cose versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-21218?
Is System.Security.Cryptography.Cose affected?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-21218?
How can I check NuGet dependencies for CVE-2026-21218?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"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"
}
}