CVE-2022-3602

HIGH

OpenSSL 3.0.0-3.0.6 - Buffer Overflow in X.509 Certificate Name Constraint Checking

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 8 public exploits for CVE-2022-3602. PoCs published by NCSC-NL, colmmacc, rbowes-r7.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository provides a comprehensive analysis and operational information regarding CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, including vulnerable software lists, detection rules, and references to official advisories. It does not contain exploit code but offers detailed technical context and community-contributed data.

Description

A buffer overrun can be triggered in X.509 certificate verification, specifically in name constraint checking. Note that this occurs after certificate chain signature verification and requires either a CA to have signed the malicious certificate or for the application to continue certificate verification despite failure to construct a path to a trusted issuer. An attacker can craft a malicious email address to overflow four attacker-controlled bytes on the stack. This buffer overflow could result in a crash (causing a denial of service) or potentially remote code execution. Many platforms implement stack overflow protections which would mitigate against the risk of remote code execution. The risk may be further mitigated based on stack layout for any given platform/compiler. Pre-announcements of CVE-2022-3602 described this issue as CRITICAL. Further analysis based on some of the mitigating factors described above have led this to be downgraded to HIGH. Users are still encouraged to upgrade to a new version as soon as possible. In a TLS client, this can be triggered by connecting to a malicious server. In a TLS server, this can be triggered if the server requests client authentication and a malicious client connects. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.7 (Affected 3.0.0,3.0.1,3.0.2,3.0.3,3.0.4,3.0.5,3.0.6).

Exploits (8)

nomisec WRITEUP 532 stars
by NCSC-NL · poc
https://github.com/NCSC-NL/OpenSSL-2022

This repository provides a comprehensive analysis and operational information regarding CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, including vulnerable software lists, detection rules, and references to official advisories. It does not contain exploit code but offers detailed technical context and community-contributed data.

Classification
Writeup 95%
Attack Type
Other
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: OpenSSL 3.0.0-3.0.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: OpenSSL 3.0.0-3.0.6 installed
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP 170 stars
by colmmacc · poc
https://github.com/colmmacc/CVE-2022-3602

This repository provides a detailed technical analysis of CVE-2022-3602, a punycode buffer overflow in OpenSSL. It explains the vulnerability's root cause, conditions for exploitation, and why it is unlikely to lead to RCE in most scenarios.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: OpenSSL 3.0.x
No auth needed
Prerequisites: A CA or Intermediate certificate with a punycode nameConstraint field · A leaf certificate with a SmtpUTF8Mailbox otherName field
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 17 stars
by rbowes-r7 · poc
https://github.com/rbowes-r7/cve-2022-3602-and-cve-2022-3786-openssl-poc

This repository contains functional proof-of-concept exploits for CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786, both OpenSSL vulnerabilities. The PoCs demonstrate the vulnerabilities by leveraging crafted inputs to trigger buffer overflows and incorrect handling of punycode/periods in domain names.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL (versions affected by CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Vulnerable version of OpenSSL · Ability to send crafted input to affected functions
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 12 stars
by eatscrayon · poc
https://github.com/eatscrayon/CVE-2022-3602-poc

This repository contains a functional proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2022-3602, a buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenSSL 3.0 < 3.0.7. The exploit demonstrates a denial-of-service (DoS) condition by sending a crafted certificate to the target server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL 3.0 < 3.0.7
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target server · OpenSSL 3.0 < 3.0.7 running on the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 4 stars
by corelight · poc
https://github.com/corelight/CVE-2022-3602

This repository contains a detection tool for CVE-2022-3602, which identifies vulnerable OpenSSL versions (3.0.0-3.0.6) and potential exploitation attempts via TLS v1.2. It generates notices for vulnerable servers and exploit attempts, including punycode-based attacks.

Classification
Scanner 90%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL 3.0.0-3.0.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target server · OpenSSL version in HTTP Server header or TLS handshake
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 4 stars
by cybersecurityworks553 · poc
https://github.com/cybersecurityworks553/CVE-2022-3602-and-CVE-2022-3786

This repository contains a Python script that scans for OpenSSL servers vulnerable to CVE-2022-3602 and CVE-2022-3786 by detecting whether client certificate authentication is required. It does not exploit the vulnerabilities but identifies potentially vulnerable systems.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Info Leak
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL 3.0.0 to 3.0.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target OpenSSL server
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by attilaszia · poc
https://github.com/attilaszia/cve-2022-3602

This repository contains a functional proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2022-3602, demonstrating a buffer overflow vulnerability in OpenSSL's punycode decoding function. The exploit uses a crafted input to trigger the overflow, showcasing the vulnerability in a controlled manner.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL (versions affected by CVE-2022-3602)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a system running vulnerable OpenSSL version
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SCANNER 1 stars
by alicangnll · poc
https://github.com/alicangnll/SpookySSL-Scanner

This repository contains a scanner for detecting vulnerable OpenSSL versions affected by CVE-2022-3602. It checks for specific OpenSSL DLL versions on Windows and uses osquery for Linux/macOS systems.

Classification
Scanner 95%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: OpenSSL versions 3.0.0 to 3.0.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to the target system's file system or package manager
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →

References (42)

Core 42
Core References
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/15
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/16
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/21
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/19
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/18
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/20
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/24
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/01/17
Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202211-01
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource third-party-advisory
https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/794340
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/2
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/6
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/5
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/1
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/3
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/7
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/10
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/9
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/12
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/11
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/15
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/14
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/02/13
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/1
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/2
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/3
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/5
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/7
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/6
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/9
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/10
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/11/03/11

Scores

CVSS v3 7.5
EPSS 0.8351
EPSS Percentile 99.3%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation none
Automatable yes
Technical Impact partial

Details

CWE
CWE-787
Status published
Products (11)
crates.io/openssl-src 300.0.0 - 300.0.11crates.io
fedoraproject/fedora 36
fedoraproject/fedora 37
fedoraproject/fedora 26
fedoraproject/fedora 27
netapp/clustered_data_ontap
nodejs/node.js 18.12.0
nodejs/node.js 19.0.0
nodejs/node.js 18.0.0 - 18.11.0
openssl/openssl 3.0.0 - 3.0.7
... and 1 more
Published Nov 01, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026