---
id: CVE-2026-84256
title: >-
  An argument parsing issue in OpenVPN 2.1_rc10 through 2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1
  through 2.7.6 on Windows allows remote authenticated users to execute
  arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate subject
summary: >-
  An argument parsing issue in OpenVPN 2.1_rc10 through 2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1
  through 2.7.6 on Windows allows remote authenticated users to execute
  arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate subject
severity: high
cvss: 7.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-78
  - CWE-88
vendor: OpenVPN
product: OpenVPN
affected:
  - OpenVPN >= 2.1_rc10 <= 2.6.22
  - OpenVPN >= 2.7_alpha1 <= 2.7.6
published: '2026-09-07'
updated: '2026-09-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-08T19:07:52.113'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84256'
references:
  - url: 'https://community.openvpn.net/Security%20Announcements/CVE-2026-84256'
    label: security@openvpn.net
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-84256.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84256'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-84256'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84256'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00383
epssPercentile: 0.29523
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-09-08T15:00:03.917148Z'
cvssSource: cna
scores:
  cna: 7.7
  vendor: 8.8
ingestedAt: '2026-09-08T15:33:26.975Z'
---

## Overview

An argument parsing issue in OpenVPN 2.1_rc10 through 2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.6 on Windows allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate subject

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · updated 2026-09-07 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-84256.json)