CVE-2026-53938

CVE Details

Release Date:	2026-09-09
Impact:	Important	What is this?

Description

OpenIDC/cjose is a C library implementing the Javascript Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE). Prior to version 0.6.2.5, cjose's JWE decryption path for the AES Key Wrap key-management algorithms (`alg` = `A128KW`, `A192KW`, `A256KW`) does not validate the length of the attacker-supplied `encrypted_key` (JWE Encrypted Key) before unwrapping it into a fixed-size, heap-allocated Content Encryption Key (CEK) buffer. A remote, unauthenticated attacker who can submit a crafted JWE to an application that decrypts it with an AES-KW symmetric key can trigger an out-of-bounds heap write, corrupting the heap. This leads at minimum to a crash (denial of service) and, depending on the heap layout and allocator, may be leverageable for further memory-corruption impact. `cjose_jwe_import()` / `cjose_jwe_decrypt()` are pre-authentication entry points: they parse and process fully attacker-controlled input. Upgrade to cjose 0.6.2.5 to receive a patch. If upgrading is not immediately possible, reject the AES Key Wrap algorithms (`A128KW`/`A192KW`/`A256KW`) for untrusted JWEs at the application layer.

See more information about CVE-2026-53938 from MITRE CVE dictionary and NIST NVD

NOTE: The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 metrics

Base Score:	8.2
Vector String:	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
Version:	3.1
Attack Vector:	Network
Attack Complexity:	Low
Privileges Required:	None
User Interaction:	None
Scope:	Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact:	None
Integrity Impact:	Low
Availability Impact:	High

Errata information

Platform	Errata	Release Date
Oracle Linux version 10 (cjose)	ELSA-2026-79122	2026-10-08