CVE-2021-23839

LowCVSS 3.7/10Last modified Jun 17, 2026

Description

OpenSSL 1.0.2 supports SSLv2. If a client attempts to negotiate SSLv2 with a server that is configured to support both SSLv2 and more recent SSL and TLS versions then a check is made for a version rollback attack when unpadding an RSA signature. Clients that support SSL or TLS versions greater than SSLv2 are supposed to use a special form of padding. A server that supports greater than SSLv2 is supposed to reject connection attempts from a client where this special form of padding is present, because this indicates that a version rollback has occurred (i.e. both client and server support greater than SSLv2, and yet this is the version that is being requested). The implementation of this padding check inverted the logic so that the connection attempt is accepted if the padding is present, and rejected if it is absent. This means that such as server will accept a connection if a version rollback attack has occurred. Further the server will erroneously reject a connection if a normal SSLv2 connection attempt is made. Only OpenSSL 1.0.2 servers from version 1.0.2s to 1.0.2x are affected by this issue. In order to be vulnerable a 1.0.2 server must: 1) have configured SSLv2 support at compile time (this is off by default), 2) have configured SSLv2 support at runtime (this is off by default), 3) have configured SSLv2 ciphersuites (these are not in the default ciphersuite list) OpenSSL 1.1.1 does not have SSLv2 support and therefore is not vulnerable to this issue. The underlying error is in the implementation of the RSA_padding_check_SSLv23() function. This also affects the RSA_SSLV23_PADDING padding mode used by various other functions. Although 1.1.1 does not support SSLv2 the RSA_padding_check_SSLv23() function still exists, as does the RSA_SSLV23_PADDING padding mode. Applications that directly call that function or use that padding mode will encounter this issue. However since there is no support for the SSLv2 protocol in 1.1.1 this is considered a bug and not a security issue in that version. OpenSSL 1.0.2 is out of support and no longer receiving public updates. Premium support customers of OpenSSL 1.0.2 should upgrade to 1.0.2y. Other users should upgrade to 1.1.1j. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2y (Affected 1.0.2s-1.0.2x).

Metrics

CVSS 3.1 3.7/10CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Weakness enumeration

Affected software

No affected versions have been published.

Timeline

Published
Feb 16, 2021
Last modified
Jun 17, 2026
NVD status
Modified

Related CVEs from 2021

CVE-2021-23844.9Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Optimizer). Supported versions that are affected are 8.0.25 anCVE-2021-238407.5Calls to EVP_CipherUpdate, EVP_EncryptUpdate and EVP_DecryptUpdate may overflow the output length argument in some cases where the input lenCVE-2021-238415.9The OpenSSL public API function X509_issuer_and_serial_hash() attempts to create a unique hash value based on the issuer and serial number dCVE-2021-238427.1Communication to the AMC2 uses a state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithm for symmetric encryption called Blowfish. An attacker could retrieCVE-2021-238437.8The Bosch software tools AccessIPConfig.exe and AmcIpConfig.exe are used to configure certains settings in AMC2 devices. The tool allows putCVE-2021-238458.8This vulnerability could allow an attacker to hijack a session while a user is logged in the configuration web page. This vulnerability was CVE-2021-238465.9When using http protocol, the user password is transmitted as a clear text parameter for which it is possible to be obtained by an attacker CVE-2021-238479.1A Missing Authentication in Critical Function in Bosch IP cameras allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to extract sensitive informationCVE-2021-238486.1An error in the URL handler Bosch IP cameras may lead to a reflected cross site scripting (XSS) in the web-based interface. An attacker withCVE-2021-238498.8A vulnerability in the web-based interface allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to trigger actions on an affected system on behalf of aCVE-2021-23855.0Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Replication). Supported versions that are affected are 5.7.34 CVE-2021-238507.2A specially crafted TCP/IP packet may cause a camera recovery image telnet interface to crash. It may also cause a buffer overflow which cou
CVE-2021-23839: Low severity, CVSS 3.7 | Vulnix