CVE-2026-5460

MEDIUMCVSS 6.3/10EPSS 0.27%

Last modified

CVE-2026-5460 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 6.3/10 on the CVSS scale. A heap use-after-free exists in wolfSSL's TLS 1.3 post-quantum cryptography (PQC) hybrid KeyShare processing. In the error handling path of TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcHybridClient() in src/tls.c, the inner function TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcClient_ex() frees a KyberKey object upon encountering an error. EPSS estimates a 0.27% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A heap use-after-free exists in wolfSSL's TLS 1.3 post-quantum cryptography (PQC) hybrid KeyShare processing. In the error handling path of TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcHybridClient() in src/tls.c, the inner function TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcClient_ex() frees a KyberKey object upon encountering an error. The caller then invokes TLSX_KeyShare_FreeAll(), which attempts to call ForceZero() on the already-freed KyberKey, resulting in writes of zero bytes over freed heap memory.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
6.5/10

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

CVSS 4.0
6.3/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability
0.27%

19.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
WolfsslWolfssl< 5.9.1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-5460?
A heap use-after-free exists in wolfSSL's TLS 1.3 post-quantum cryptography (PQC) hybrid KeyShare processing. In the error handling path of TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcHybridClient() in src/tls.c, the inner function TLSX_KeyShare_ProcessPqcClient_ex() frees a KyberKey object upon encountering an error. The caller then invokes TLSX_KeyShare_FreeAll(), which attempts to call ForceZero() on the already-freed KyberKey, resulting in writes of zero bytes over freed heap memory.
How severe is CVE-2026-5460?
CVE-2026-5460 has a CVSS score of 6.3/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.27% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-5460?
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-2026-5460?

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Source: NVD / NIST