---
id: CVE-2023-0466
title: |-
  The function X509_VERIFY_PARAM_add0_policy() is documented to
  implicitly enable the certificate policy check when doing certificate
  verification
summary: |-
  The function X509_VERIFY_PARAM_add0_policy() is documented to
  implicitly enable the certificate policy check when doing certificate
  verification. However the implementation of the function does not
  enable the check which allows certifica…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.3
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-295
vendor: openssl
product: openssl
affected:
  - 'openssl >= 1.0.2, < 1.0.2zh'
  - 'openssl >= 1.1.1, < 1.1.1u'
  - 'openssl >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.9'
  - 'openssl >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.1'
patched:
  - openssl 3.1.1
published: '2023-03-28'
updated: '2026-10-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-14T21:17:12.893'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-0466'
references:
  - url: 'http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/09/28/4'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=0d16b7e99aafc0b4a6d729eec65a411a7e025f0a
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=51e8a84ce742db0f6c70510d0159dad8f7825908
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=73398dea26de9899fb4baa94098ad0a61f435c72
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=fc814a30fc4f0bc54fcea7d9a7462f5457aab061
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/06/msg00011.html'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202402-08'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230414-0001/'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5417'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230328.txt'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/09/28/4'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=0d16b7e99aafc0b4a6d729eec65a411a7e025f0a
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=51e8a84ce742db0f6c70510d0159dad8f7825908
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=73398dea26de9899fb4baa94098ad0a61f435c72
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=fc814a30fc4f0bc54fcea7d9a7462f5457aab061
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/06/msg00011.html'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202402-08'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230414-0001/'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5417'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230328.txt'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-337522.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-341067.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-556635.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-625862.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-769027.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-794697.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-879734.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.01625
epssPercentile: 0.75675
ingestedAt: '2026-10-14T21:57:04.731Z'
---

## Overview

The function X509_VERIFY_PARAM_add0_policy() is documented to
implicitly enable the certificate policy check when doing certificate
verification. However the implementation of the function does not
enable the check which allows certificates with invalid or incorrect
policies to pass the certificate verification.

As suddenly enabling the policy check could break existing deployments it was
decided to keep the existing behavior of the X509_VERIFY_PARAM_add0_policy()
function.

Instead the applications that require OpenSSL to perform certificate
policy check need to use X509_VERIFY_PARAM_set1_policies() or explicitly
enable the policy check by calling X509_VERIFY_PARAM_set_flags() with
the X509_V_FLAG_POLICY_CHECK flag argument.

Certificate policy checks are disabled by default in OpenSSL and are not
commonly used by applications.

## Affected

- `openssl >= 1.0.2, < 1.0.2zh`
- `openssl >= 1.1.1, < 1.1.1u`
- `openssl >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.9`
- `openssl >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.1`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `openssl 3.1.1`