Summary
X.509 Email Address 4-byte Buffer Overflow
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.
Impact
A write operation targets a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary. Typical impact: memory corruption, crash, or arbitrary code execution.
CVE-2022-3602 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (300.0.11); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-3602? CVE-2022-3602 is a critical-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in openssl-src (rust), affecting versions >= 300.0.0, < 300.0.11. It is fixed in 300.0.11. A write operation targets a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary.
- How severe is CVE-2022-3602? CVE-2022-3602 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of openssl-src are affected by CVE-2022-3602? openssl-src (rust) versions >= 300.0.0, < 300.0.11 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-3602? Yes. CVE-2022-3602 is fixed in 300.0.11. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-3602 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-3602 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-3602 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-3602? Upgrade
openssl-srcto 300.0.11 or later.