CVE-2026-53939

CVE Details

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

Description

OpenIDC/cjose is a C library implementing the Javascript Object Signing and Encryption (JOSE). In versions 0.6.1 through 0.6.2.5, when cjose encrypts a JWE using an AES-CBC-HMAC content-encryption algorithm (`A128CBC-HS256`, `A192CBC-HS384`, or `A256CBC-HS512`) together with any key-management algorithm that generates a fresh content-encryption key (CEK), the CEK is all zero bytes instead of being randomly generated. The resulting JWE is therefore encrypted and authenticated under a fixed, publicly known key, so anyone who obtains the JWE can recover the plaintext and forge or modify the content. This is fixed in version 0.6.2.6 by `_cjose_jwe_set_cek_aes_cbc()` generating the CEK from `RAND_bytes`. A regression test asserts that the `encrypted_key` differs across two encryptions for each AES-CBC-HMAC variant. Until upgrading, for data encrypted with cjose, three options are available. Use an AES-GCM `enc` (`A128GCM` / `A192GCM` / `A256GCM`) instead of an AES-CBC-HMAC `enc`, use `alg=dir` with a caller-supplied CEK, or avoid using cjose for JWE encryption with the affected algorithm pair. These are mitigations for new ciphertexts only; data already encrypted under the zero key remains compromised and should be re-encrypted (and any secrets it contained rotated).

See more information about CVE-2026-53939 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:	9.1
Vector String:	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Version:	3.1
Attack Vector:	Network
Attack Complexity:	Low
Privileges Required:	None
User Interaction:	None
Scope:	Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact:	High
Integrity Impact:	High
Availability Impact:	None

Errata information

Platform	Errata	Release Date
Oracle Linux version 10 (cjose)	ELSA-2026-80605	2026-10-11