OpenSSLFramework / library
CVE-2022-1473
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 · uneditedThe OPENSSL_LH_flush() function, which empties a hash table, contains a bug that breaks reuse of the memory occuppied by the removed hash table entries. This function is used when decoding certificates or keys. If a long lived process periodically decodes certificates or keys its memory usage will expand without bounds and the process might be terminated by the operating system causing a denial of service. Also traversing the empty hash table entries will take increasingly more time. Typically such long lived processes might be TLS clients or TLS servers configured to accept client certificate authentication. The function was added in the OpenSSL 3.0 version thus older releases are not affected by the issue. Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.3 (Affected 3.0.0,3.0.1,3.0.2).
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 · high confidenceA memory management bug in OpenSSL 3.0.0-3.0.2's OPENSSL_LH_flush() function prevents proper deallocation of hash table entries during certificate/key decoding. This causes unbounded memory growth in long-lived processes like TLS servers that repeatedly decode certificates, eventually leading to denial of service via OOM kill and progressive performance degradation.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
>= 3.0.0, < 3.0.3all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed OpenSSL versionRun `openssl version` or check the library file `/usr/lib/libssl.so` or similar path for its version informationAffected if The version shown is 3.0.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.2
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Determine if TLS services with client certificate authentication are runningInspect running processes for TLS servers (nginx, Apache httpd, stunnel, etc.) and check their configuration for `SSLVerifyClient` or `verify_client` directives set to required or optionalAffected if Long-running TLS services that accept or require client certificates are active and decoding certificates repeatedly
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Monitor memory growth of TLS server processesUse tools like `ps aux`, `top`, or `pmap` to observe the RSS (Resident Set Size) of TLS server processes over time, especially after periods of client certificate authenticationAffected if Memory usage of TLS server processes shows unbounded growth without stabilization
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Check for NetApp product installationsInventory the system for any of the listed NetApp products: Active Iq Unified Manager, Clustered Data Ontap, Clustered Data Ontap Antivirus Connector, Santricity Smi S Provider, Smi S Provider, Snapmanager, or Solidfire Enterprise Sds and Hci Storage NodeAffected if Any of these NetApp products are installed, as all versions are affected regardless of OpenSSL version
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Inspect certificate decoding operations in logsReview TLS server logs for patterns of client certificate handshakes and look for warnings related to memory allocation or hash table operations during certificate parsingAffected if The environment performs repeated certificate decoding operations typical of TLS servers with client authentication enabled
You are affected if OpenSSL version 3.0.0-3.0.2 is installed AND the system runs long-lived TLS services that decode client certificates, or if any listed NetApp product is present regardless of version.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped3.0.3
Upgrade OpenSSL installations from version 3.0.0-3.0.2 to version 3.0.3 or later. Prioritize systems with long-running TLS services that accept client certificate authentication.
OpenSSL 3.0.3 or later (or the latest 3.x stable release)
- Identify the current OpenSSL version by running 'openssl version' or checking the library file
- If the version is 3.0.0, 3.0.1, or 3.0.2, upgrade to OpenSSL 3.0.3 or later using the system's package manager or compiling from source
- For NetApp products (Active IQ Unified Manager, Clustered Data ONTAP, Clustered Data ONTAP Antivirus Connector, Santricity SMI-S Provider, SMI-S Provider, SnapManager, Solidfire/Enterprise SDS & HCI Storage Node), apply the vendor-supplied patches when available from security.netapp.com
- Restart any long-lived processes that decode certificates or keys (such as TLS servers with client certificate authentication) after the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in OpenSSL
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-1473 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-1473 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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