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OpenSSLFramework / library

CVE-2023-0217

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.0.7 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
An invalid pointer dereference on read can be triggered when an application tries to check a malformed DSA public key by the EVP_PKEY_public_check() function. This will most likely lead to an application crash. This function can be called on public keys supplied from untrusted sources which could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service attack. The TLS implementation in OpenSSL does not call this function but applications might call the function if there are additional security requirements imposed by standards such as FIPS 140-3.

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 confidence

OpenSSL's EVP_PKEY_public_check() function contains an invalid pointer dereference on read when processing malformed DSA public keys. When applications call this function on untrusted DSA public keys, the vulnerability causes an out-of-bounds read leading to application crash and potential denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade OpenSSL to version 3.0.9 or 1.1.1t and later. Until patched, avoid calling EVP_PKEY_public_check() on DSA public keys from untrusted sources, or implement input validation before calling the function.

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
Affected:>= 3.0.0, <= 3.0.7

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed OpenSSL version
    Run 'openssl version' or 'openssl version -a' to see the installed version number and build configuration
    Affected if The version displayed is between 3.0.0 and 3.0.7 inclusive (for example, 3.0.5 or 3.0.7)
  2. Check for OpenSSL library file version
    Examine the shared library file, typically /usr/lib/libssl.so.3 or /usr/lib64/libssl.so.3 on Linux, or check via 'ldd' on the openssl binary
    Affected if The library version matches 3.0.x in the 3.0.0 to 3.0.7 range
  3. Identify applications using EVP_PKEY_public_check
    Search application code or binaries for calls to EVP_PKEY_public_check function using 'grep -r "EVP_PKEY_public_check"' on source code or 'strings' on binaries
    Affected if The application calls EVP_PKEY_public_check and processes DSA public keys
  4. Check for DSA key handling configuration
    Review application configuration files or logs to determine if DSA key types are enabled or loaded, or trace API calls using ltrace/strace
    Affected if DSA key processing is enabled and the application accepts DSA public keys from external or untrusted sources

You are affected if your installed OpenSSL version falls within 3.0.0 to 3.0.7 AND your applications call EVP_PKEY_public_check on DSA public keys from untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 a release after 3.0.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenSSL to version 3.0.9 or 1.1.1t and later. Until patched, avoid calling EVP_PKEY_public_check() on DSA public keys from untrusted sources, or implement input validation before calling the function.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenSSL 3.0.8

  1. Check current OpenSSL version using: openssl version -a
  2. Upgrade OpenSSL to version 3.0.8 or later. For package managers: apt-get update && apt-get install openssl (Debian/Ubuntu), yum update openssl (RHEL/CentOS), or dnf update openssl (Fedora)
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: openssl version -a
  4. Ensure any services using OpenSSL are restarted to load the updated library
  5. For FIPS 140-3 compliance contexts, re-validate that EVP_PKEY_public_check() now handles malformed DSA keys correctly without crashing

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

Fix this in OpenSSL Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2023-0217 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data