REDHAT-BUG-2455896: High severity Erlang/OTP OTP 27.0 vulnerability
Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in Erlang OTP publickey (pubkeyocsp module) allows OCSP designated-responder authorization bypass via missing signature verification.
The OCSP response validation in publickey:pkixocspvalidate/5 does not verify that a CA-designated responder certificate was cryptographically signed by the issuing CA. Instead, it only checks that the responder certificate's issuer name matches the CA's subject name and that the certificate has the OCSPSigning extended key usage. An attacker who can intercept or control OCSP responses can create a self-signed certificate with a matching issuer name and the OCSPSigning EKU, and use it to forge OCSP responses that mark revoked certificates as valid.
This affects SSL/TLS clients using OCSP stapling, which may accept connections to servers with revoked certificates, potentially transmitting sensitive data to compromised servers. Applications using the publickey:pkixocspvalidate/5 API directly are also affected, with impact depending on usage context.
This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/publickey/src/pubkeyocsp.erl and program routines pubkeyocsp:isauthorizedresponder/3.
This issue affects OTP from OTP 27.0 until OTP 28.4.2 and 27.3.4.10 corresponding to publickey from 1.16 until 1.20.3 and 1.17.1.2, and ssl from 11.2 until 11.5.4 and 11.2.12.7.
Affected Software
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-2455896?
The severity of REDHAT-BUG-2455896 is high, rated at 7.
What does REDHAT-BUG-2455896 affect?
REDHAT-BUG-2455896 affects the public_key and ssl modules in Erlang/OTP version 27.0.
How do I mitigate REDHAT-BUG-2455896?
To mitigate REDHAT-BUG-2455896, ensure you apply the latest security updates for Erlang/OTP.
What is the nature of the vulnerability in REDHAT-BUG-2455896?
The nature of the vulnerability in REDHAT-BUG-2455896 is an improper certificate validation that allows OCSP designated-responder authorization bypass.
When was REDHAT-BUG-2455896 published?
REDHAT-BUG-2455896 was published on April 7, 2026.