CVE-2026-42764

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 0.68%

Last modified

CVE-2026-42764 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 on the CVSS scale. Issue summary: Receiving a QUIC initial packet with an invalid token may trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the OpenSSL QUIC server with address validation disabled. Impact summary: NULL pointer dereference typically causes abnormal termination of the affected QUIC server process and a Denial of Service. If the address validation is disabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, an attacker can crash the server by sending an initial packet with an invalid or expired token. By default, the client address validation is enabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, which makes the default configuration not vulnerable to this issue. However if the SSL_LISTENER_FLAG_NO_VALIDATE is used with the SSL_new_listener() call, the address validation is disabled making the vulnerable code reachable. 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.. EPSS estimates a 0.68% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

Issue summary: Receiving a QUIC initial packet with an invalid token may trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the OpenSSL QUIC server with address validation disabled. Impact summary: NULL pointer dereference typically causes abnormal termination of the affected QUIC server process and a Denial of Service. If the address validation is disabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, an attacker can crash the server by sending an initial packet with an invalid or expired token. By default, the client address validation is enabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, which makes the default configuration not vulnerable to this issue. However if the SSL_LISTENER_FLAG_NO_VALIDATE is used with the SSL_new_listener() call, the address validation is disabled making the vulnerable code reachable. 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.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.68%

47.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
OpensslOpenssl>= 3.5.0, < 3.5.7
OpensslOpenssl>= 3.6.0, < 3.6.3
OpensslOpenssl4.0.0

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42764?
Issue summary: Receiving a QUIC initial packet with an invalid token may trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the OpenSSL QUIC server with address validation disabled. Impact summary: NULL pointer dereference typically causes abnormal termination of the affected QUIC server process and a Denial of Service. If the address validation is disabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, an attacker can crash the server by sending an initial packet with an invalid or expired token. By default, the client address validation is enabled in the OpenSSL QUIC server implementation, which makes the default configuration not vulnerable to this issue. However if the SSL_LISTENER_FLAG_NO_VALIDATE is used with the SSL_new_listener() call, the address validation is disabled making the vulnerable code reachable. 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.
How severe is CVE-2026-42764?
CVE-2026-42764 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.68% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-42764?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-42764?

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Source: NVD / NIST