CVE-2015-0290: Medium severity openssl vulnerability
OpenSSL 1.0.2 introduced the "multiblock" performance improvement. This feature only applies on 64-bit x86 architecture platforms that support AES NI instructions. A defect in the implementation of "multiblock" can cause OpenSSL's internal write buffer to become incorrectly set to NULL when using non-blocking I/O. Typically, when the user application is using a socket BIO for writing, this will only result in a failed connection. However if some other BIO is used, then it is likely that a segmentation fault will be triggered, thus enabling a potential denial of service attack.
This issue affects OpenSSL version 1.0.2, and is fixed in version 1.0.2a.
Acknowledgements:
Red Hat would like to thank the OpenSSL project for reporting this issue. Upstream acknowledges Daniel Danner and Rainer Mueller as the original reporters.
Other sources
The multi-block feature in the ssl3writebytes function in s3pkt.c in OpenSSL 1.0.2 before 1.0.2a on 64-bit x86 platforms with AES NI support does not properly handle certain non-blocking I/O cases, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (pointer corruption and application crash) via unspecified vectors.
— MITRE
Affected Software
Remediation
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2015-0290?
CVE-2015-0290 is considered a medium severity vulnerability due to its potential impact on 64-bit x86 architecture platforms using OpenSSL 1.0.2.
How do I fix CVE-2015-0290?
To fix CVE-2015-0290, update OpenSSL to a version higher than 1.0.2.
Which versions of OpenSSL are affected by CVE-2015-0290?
CVE-2015-0290 affects OpenSSL versions 1.0.2, including beta releases from 1.0.2-beta1 to 1.0.2-beta3.
What is the specific issue in CVE-2015-0290?
The specific issue in CVE-2015-0290 is a defect in the 'multiblock' performance improvement that can incorrectly set OpenSSL's internal write buffer to NULL.
On which architecture does CVE-2015-0290 primarily affect OpenSSL?
CVE-2015-0290 primarily affects OpenSSL on 64-bit x86 architecture platforms that support AES NI instructions.