CVE-2022-3358: Openssl src Using A Custom Cipher With Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4f63-89w9-3jjv
CVSS 7.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-3358 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) using a custom cipher with vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Openssl src libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves using a custom cipher with `nid_undef` may lead to null encryption. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 300.0.10.

CVE-2022-3358 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-3358
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4f63-89w9-3jjv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
Affected Product Openssl src
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2022-3358

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

openssl-src fixed: 300.0.10
Upgrade openssl-src to 300.0.10
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 openssl-src

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2022-3358, inspect your project dependencies for Openssl src:

inspect dependencies for openssl-src

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Openssl src in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 300.0.10), 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-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. In Openssl src, 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

OpenSSL supports creating a custom cipher via the legacy EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() function and associated function calls. This function was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0 and application authors are instead encouraged to use the new provider mechanism in order to implement custom ciphers. OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 to 3.0.5 incorrectly handle legacy custom ciphers passed to the EVP_EncryptInit_ex2(), EVP_DecryptInit_ex2() and EVP_CipherInit_ex2() functions (as well as other similarly named encryption and decryption initialisation functions). Instead of using the custom cipher directly it incorrectly tries to fetch an equivalent cipher from the available providers. An equivalent cipher is found based on the NID passed to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). This NID is supposed to represent the unique NID for a given cipher. However it is possible for an application to incorrectly pass NID_undef as this value in the call to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). When NID_undef is used in this way the OpenSSL encryption/decryption initialisation function will match the NULL cipher as being equivalent and will fetch this from the available providers. This will succeed if the default provider has been loaded (or if a third party provider has been loaded that offers this cipher). Using the NULL cipher means that the plaintext is emitted as the ciphertext. Applications are only affected by this issue if they call EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() using NID_undef and subsequently use it in a call to an encryption/decryption initialisation function. Applications that only use SSL/TLS are not impacted by this issue. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.6 (Affected 3.0.0-3.0.5).

CVE-2022-3358 Affected Openssl src Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
300.0.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
openssl-src
crates.io
≥ 300.0.0
< 300.0.10
300.0.10

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-3358?
CVE-2022-3358 is a security vulnerability in Openssl src involving Using a Custom Cipher with `NID_undef` may lead to NULL encryption under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Openssl src versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 300.0.10 across affected packages: openssl-src.
What version fixes CVE-2022-3358?
Upgrading to 300.0.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is openssl-src affected?
Yes, openssl-src is affected in releases prior to 300.0.10. Upgrade your dependency to 300.0.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-3358?
CVE-2022-3358 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-3358?
CVE-2022-3358 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 crates.io dependencies for CVE-2022-3358?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for openssl-src'. 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-4f63-89w9-3jjv",
  "modified" : "2022-10-13T20:08:51Z",
  "published" : "2022-10-11T19:00:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-3358" ],
  "summary" : "Using a Custom Cipher with `NID_undef` may lead to NULL encryption",
  "details" : "OpenSSL supports creating a custom cipher via the legacy EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() function and associated function calls. This function was deprecated in OpenSSL 3.0 and application authors are instead encouraged to use the new provider mechanism in order to implement custom ciphers. OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 to 3.0.5 incorrectly handle legacy custom ciphers passed to the EVP_EncryptInit_ex2(), EVP_DecryptInit_ex2() and EVP_CipherInit_ex2() functions (as well as other similarly named encryption and decryption initialisation functions). Instead of using the custom cipher directly it incorrectly tries to fetch an equivalent cipher from the available providers. An equivalent cipher is found based on the NID passed to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). This NID is supposed to represent the unique NID for a given cipher. However it is possible for an application to incorrectly pass NID_undef as this value in the call to EVP_CIPHER_meth_new(). When NID_undef is used in this way the OpenSSL encryption/decryption initialisation function will match the NULL cipher as being equivalent and will fetch this from the available providers. This will succeed if the default provider has been loaded (or if a third party provider has been loaded that offers this cipher). Using the NULL cipher means that the plaintext is emitted as the ciphertext. Applications are only affected by this issue if they call EVP_CIPHER_meth_new() using NID_undef and subsequently use it in a call to an encryption/decryption initialisation function. Applications that only use SSL/TLS are not impacted by this issue. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.6 (Affected 3.0.0-3.0.5).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "openssl-src"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "300.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "300.0.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-3358"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=5485c56679d7c49b96e8fc8ca708b0b7e7c03c4b"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/alexcrichton/openssl-src-rs"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2022-0023"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2022-0059.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202402-08"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20221028-0014"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20221011.txt"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-10-12T20:00:56Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-10-11T15:15:00Z"
  }
}