---
id: CVE-2026-14457
title: >-
  Issue summary: In a server or client configuration with RFC7250 Raw Public
  Keys (RPKs)

  enabled, and only the private key (with no associated certificate) configured
  locally,

  a NULL pointer dereference may occur when the remote peer solic…
summary: >-
  Issue summary: In a server or client configuration with RFC7250 Raw Public
  Keys (RPKs)

  enabled, and only the private key (with no associated certificate) configured
  locally,

  a NULL pointer dereference may occur when the remote peer solic…
severity: high
cvss: 7.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: openssl
product: openssl
affected:
  - 'openssl >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.7'
  - 'openssl >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.8'
  - 'openssl >= 3.6.0, < 3.6.4'
  - 'openssl >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.2'
patched:
  - openssl 4.0.2
published: '2026-08-25'
updated: '2026-09-11'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-11T21:14:35.873'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14457'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/1e8c398db67404babd3e5af999bb6bd86f720c76
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/581aaa0f0a35d214740f0fe1f5283ec41f1212e1
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/d0af20478688a6aa2f59d61caa3f82136b181d7f
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/dad836b071da6579510c968615848ba03cac593b
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: 'https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20260825.txt'
    label: openssl-security@openssl.org
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-14457.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-14457'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2517562'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-14457'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14457'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67154'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67165'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:59641'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:59635'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67956'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71603'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'yes'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-08-25T14:13:25.034178Z'
ingestedAt: '2026-09-13T19:58:38.650Z'
epss: 0.01021
epssPercentile: 0.61914
---

## Overview

Issue summary: In a server or client configuration with RFC7250 Raw Public Keys (RPKs)
enabled, and only the private key (with no associated certificate) configured locally,
a NULL pointer dereference may occur when the remote peer solicits raw public keys and
also sends the typically omitted "signature_algorithms_cert" TLS extension.

Impact summary: The impact is limited to a possible Denial of Service as a result of
an application abort, no data disclosure or remote command execution are possible.

CWE: CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference

Description: While a passing comment in sample code in the documentation suggests
that key-only RPK configurations are supported, the best-practice RPK configuration
is to always configure a corresponding certificate (possibly self-signed or
signed by any convenient CA).

When the private key is configured along with a matching certificate, the
"signature_algorithms_cert" extension is handled reliably even without the
fix, and peer clients or servers that don't support raw public keys may be
able to complete a TLS connection by pinning or verifying the corresponding
certificate or its public key.

Deployments that prefer to configure just a private key with no certificate
need to upgrade to an updated release as noted below.

FIPS impact: no

No FIPS modules are affected by this issue, as the SSL protocol implementation
is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

## Affected

- `openssl >= 3.4.0, < 3.4.7`
- `openssl >= 3.5.0, < 3.5.8`
- `openssl >= 3.6.0, < 3.6.4`
- `openssl >= 4.0.0, < 4.0.2`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `openssl 4.0.2`

## Vendor advisories

- **RHSA-2026:67154** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10), Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) · released 2026-09-14 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67154)
- **RHSA-2026:67165** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9), Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) · released 2026-09-14 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67165)
- **RHSA-2026:59641** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Hardened Images · released 2026-08-25 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:59641)
- **RHSA-2026:59635** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Hardened Images · released 2026-08-25 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:59635)
- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Developer Hub, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat JBoss Core Services, Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6, Red Hat JBoss Web Server 7, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Developer Hub, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat JBoss Core Services, Red Hat JBoss Web Server 6, … · updated 2026-09-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-14457.json)
- **RHSA-2026:67956** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 · released 2026-09-16 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:67956)
- **RHSA-2026:71603** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Update Infrastructure 5 · released 2026-09-24 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71603)
