CVE-2023-0286: Cryptography Vulnerable OpenSSL Included Vulnerability
HIGHCVE-2023-0286 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.4) vulnerable openssl included vulnerability (CWE-843: Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')) affecting Cryptography libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves vulnerable openssl included in cryptography wheels. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 39.0.1, 111.25.0, 300.0.12.
CVE-2023-0286 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 7.4
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:H/I:N/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2023-0286
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Cryptography dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
pip install cryptography>=39.0.1Upgrade openssl-src to 111.25.0Upgrade openssl-src to 300.0.12Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
pip show cryptographyHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-0286, inspect your installed packages using pip:
pip show cryptographyAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cryptography in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 39.0.1), your application is affected.
Note: The pip show cryptography command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.
Technical Details
Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis
This vulnerability is classified under CWE-843: Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion'), where the product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompatible with the original type. In Cryptography, 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-2023-0286 Affected Cryptography Versions
3 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
cryptography
|
PyPI |
≥ 0.8.1
< 39.0.1
|
39.0.1
|
|
openssl-src
|
crates.io |
< 111.25.0
|
111.25.0
|
|
openssl-src
|
crates.io |
≥ 300.0.0
< 300.0.12
|
300.0.12
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-0286?
Which Cryptography versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2023-0286?
Is cryptography affected?
Is openssl-src affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-0286?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-0286?
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-0286?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-x4qr-2fvf-3mr5",
"modified" : "2025-11-04T22:08:44Z",
"published" : "2023-02-08T22:17:06Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-0286" ],
"summary" : "Vulnerable OpenSSL included in cryptography wheels",
"details" : "pyca/cryptography's wheels include a statically linked copy of OpenSSL. The versions of OpenSSL included in cryptography 0.8.1-39.0.0 are vulnerable to a security issue. More details about the vulnerabilities themselves can be found in https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20221213.txt and https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230207.txt.\n\nIf you are building cryptography source (\"sdist\") then you are responsible for upgrading your copy of OpenSSL. Only users installing from wheels built by the cryptography project (i.e., those distributed on PyPI) need to update their cryptography versions.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "PyPI",
"name" : "cryptography"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0.8.1"
}, {
"fixed" : "39.0.1"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "crates.io",
"name" : "openssl-src"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "111.25.0"
} ]
} ]
}, {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "crates.io",
"name" : "openssl-src"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "300.0.0"
}, {
"fixed" : "300.0.12"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyca/cryptography/security/advisories/GHSA-x4qr-2fvf-3mr5"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0286"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2023-0286"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/LibreSSL/libressl-3.6.2-relnotes.txt"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/patches/7.2/common/018_x509.patch.sig"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=2c6c9d439b484e1ba9830d8454a34fa4f80fdfe9"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=2f7530077e0ef79d98718138716bc51ca0cad658"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=fd2af07dc083a350c959147097003a14a5e8ac4d"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/pyca/cryptography"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2023-0003"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2023-0006.html"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202402-08"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230207.txt"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-843" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2023-02-08T22:17:06Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2023-02-08T20:15:00Z"
}
}