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CVE-2026-44519

MEDIUMCVSS 5.1/10EPSS 0.12%

Last modified

CVE-2026-44519 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.1/10 on the CVSS scale. liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. Prior to 0.16.0, the ct_select function in src/kem/frodokem/external/util.c for the FrodoKEM-640, FrodoKEM-976, and FrodoKEM-1344 AES and SHAKE reference variants lacks a value barrier in the Fujisaki-Okamoto implicit-rejection path. EPSS estimates a 0.12% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. Prior to 0.16.0, the ct_select function in src/kem/frodokem/external/util.c for the FrodoKEM-640, FrodoKEM-976, and FrodoKEM-1344 AES and SHAKE reference variants lacks a value barrier in the Fujisaki-Okamoto implicit-rejection path. When compiled with Clang 17 or later at an affected optimization level such as -Os, the compiler can emit a secret-dependent conditional load, causing the real and rejection secret paths to leave distinguishable cache residency after successful and failed decapsulation. A local attacker able to perform repeated cache-timing measurements may use this oracle as part of a private-key recovery attack. Default -O3 builds vectorize both source loads and do not exhibit the reported behavior, and the advisory does not report the same generated memory-access pattern in NTRU, NTRU-Prime, BIKE, HQC, Classic McEliece, Kyber, or the already-barriered ML-KEM implementation. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.0.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
5.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.12%

2.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

VendorProductVersions
open-quantum-safeliboqs< 0.16.0

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-44519?
liboqs is a C-language cryptographic library that provides implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms. Prior to 0.16.0, the ct_select function in src/kem/frodokem/external/util.c for the FrodoKEM-640, FrodoKEM-976, and FrodoKEM-1344 AES and SHAKE reference variants lacks a value barrier in the Fujisaki-Okamoto implicit-rejection path. When compiled with Clang 17 or later at an affected optimization level such as -Os, the compiler can emit a secret-dependent conditional load, causing the real and rejection secret paths to leave distinguishable cache residency after successful and failed decapsulation. A local attacker able to perform repeated cache-timing measurements may use this oracle as part of a private-key recovery attack. Default -O3 builds vectorize both source loads and do not exhibit the reported behavior, and the advisory does not report the same generated memory-access pattern in NTRU, NTRU-Prime, BIKE, HQC, Classic McEliece, Kyber, or the already-barriered ML-KEM implementation. This issue is fixed in version 0.16.0.
How severe is CVE-2026-44519?
CVE-2026-44519 has a CVSS score of 5.1/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.12% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-44519?
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.

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Source: NVD / NIST