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OpenSSLFramework / library

CVE-2021-4160

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0 / 1.1.1m or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
There is a carry propagation bug in the MIPS32 and MIPS64 squaring procedure. Many EC algorithms are affected, including some of the TLS 1.3 default curves. Impact was not analyzed in detail, because the pre-requisites for attack are considered unlikely and include reusing private keys. Analysis suggests that attacks against RSA and DSA as a result of this defect would be very difficult to perform and are not believed likely. Attacks against DH are considered just feasible (although very difficult) because most of the work necessary to deduce information about a private key may be performed offline. The amount of resources required for such an attack would be significant. However, for an attack on TLS to be meaningful, the server would have to share the DH private key among multiple clients, which is no longer an option since CVE-2016-0701. This issue affects OpenSSL versions 1.0.2, 1.1.1 and 3.0.0. It was addressed in the releases of 1.1.1m and 3.0.1 on the 15th of December 2021. For the 1.0.2 release it is addressed in git commit 6fc1aaaf3 that is available to premium support customers only. It will be made available in 1.0.2zc when it is released. The issue only affects OpenSSL on MIPS platforms. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.1 (Affected 3.0.0). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1m (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1l). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2zc-dev (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2zb).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
OpenSSLFramework / library
Affected:>= 1.0.2, <= 1.0.2zb>= 1.1.1, < 1.1.1m= 3.0.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0
Health Sciences Inform PublisherApplication
Affected:= 6.2.1.1= 6.3.1.1
Jd Edwards Enterpriseone ToolsApplication
Affected:= 9.2.6.3
Jd Edwards World SecurityApplication
Affected:= a9.4
Peoplesoft Enterprise PeopletoolsApplication
Affected:= 8.58= 8.59
Sinec InsApplication
Affected:< 1.0= 1.0
Enterprise Manager Ops CenterApplication
Affected:= 12.4.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.0 / 1.1.1m or later
Fixed in 1.01.1.1m
Vendor patch www.oracle.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

OpenSSL 3.0.1 for 3.0.0; OpenSSL 1.1.1m for 1.1.1-1.1.1l; OpenSSL 1.0.2zc (when available) for 1.0.2-1.0.2zb

  1. Identify the current OpenSSL version using 'openssl version' command
  2. For OpenSSL 3.0.0: Upgrade to version 3.0.1 or later
  3. For OpenSSL 1.1.1 through 1.1.1l: Upgrade to version 1.1.1m or later
  4. For OpenSSL 1.0.2 through 1.0.2zb: Upgrade to version 1.0.2zc when available, or obtain the premium support patch from git commit 6fc1aaaf3
  5. For non-OpenSSL products listed (Debian, Oracle products, etc.): Apply vendor-specific patches from the referenced Oracle CPU April 2022 advisory
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking 'openssl version' shows the fixed version
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a bugfix release; however, test in staging first as with any OpenSSL upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-4160 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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