QUIC Uses Uninitialized Stack Bytes During Automated Peer Detection (CVE-2026-88822)
Published Last modified Sources: BSI, EUVD, CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
Issue summary: QUIC, when performing automated peer detection, may allow uninitialized stack data to leak into the received address which is then used as the destination for outgoing packets. Impact summary: Applications using QUIC's automated peer detection mechanism may receive an invalid address, leading to connection loss and disclosure of uninitialized stack data to an attacker observing the outgoing network traffic.
Update OpenSSL to version 4.1.1, OpenSSL to version 4.0.4, OpenSSL to version 3.5.10.
- Affected
- OpenSSL
lt 4.1.0..4.1.1 - OpenSSL
lt 4.0.0..4.0.4 - OpenSSL
lt 3.5.0..3.5.10
- OpenSSL
- Fixed in
- OpenSSL
4.1.1 - OpenSSL
4.0.4 - OpenSSL
3.5.10
- OpenSSL
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Metrics
—
XIEM Effective CVSS
No value is available for this vulnerability.
0.0
CVSS v3
Severity Not rated on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: BSI, EUVD, CVE.org
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 8.7
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Not rated
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 30.61 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 0.0
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 8.7
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-457
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
Issue summary: QUIC, when performing automated peer detection, may allow uninitialized stack data to leak into the received address which is then used as the destination for outgoing packets. Impact summary: Applications using QUIC's automated peer detection mechanism may receive an invalid address, leading to connection loss and disclosure of uninitialized stack data to an attacker observing the outgoing network traffic. CWE: CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable) Description: The OpenSSL QUIC stack contains a feature in which, when using an already connected socket, it will auto-detect the peer address during the SSL handshake. This feature uses the getpeername() function, passing a buffer of sufficient length to hold any supported address family, but passes a buffer length that is only sized such that larger addresses, such as IPv6, cannot be retrieved. The getpeername() function however, still returns the full address length, which is accepted as the valid input buffer length, leading to the address buffer containing uninitialized stack data instead of the actual peer address. The invalid peer address is then used as destination for the outgoing packets which leads to a connectivity breakage and a leakage of the uninitialized stack data to passive network observers. FIPS impact: no The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this CVE as the affected protocol is not implemented in the FIPS module.
Source: BSI WID Portal, ENISA EUVD, NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE), BSI CSAF, cvelistv5
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL | OpenSSL |
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| Open Source | OpenSSL |
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Vendors and products
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-457Use of Uninitialized Variable
Variant
The code uses a variable that has not been initialized, leading to unpredictable or unintended results.
Entry at MITRE CWE-457
References & sources
- openssl-library.orgOpenSSL AdvisoryVendor advisory, euvd
- github.com4.1.1 git commitPatch, euvd
- github.com4.0.4 git commitPatch, euvd
- github.com3.5.10 git commitPatch, euvd
- NVD (NIST)vuln/detail/CVE-2026-88822euvd
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Receivedopenssl.org
Weakness type: CWE-457
Description added or changed
New references:Show 7 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —Issue summary: QUIC, when performing automated peer detection, may allow uninitialized stack data to leak into the received address which is then used as the destination for outgoing packets. Impact summary: Applications using QUIC's automated peer detection mechanism may receive an invalid address, leading to connection loss and disclosure of uninitialized stack data to an attacker observing the outgoing network traffic. CWE: CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable) Description: The OpenSSL QUIC stack contains a feature in which, when using an already connected socket, it will auto-detect the peer address during the SSL handshake. This feature uses the getpeername() function, passing a buffer of sufficient length to hold any supported address family, but passes a buffer length that is only sized such that larger addresses, such as IPv6, cannot be retrieved. The getpeername() function however, still returns the full address length, which is accepted as the valid input buffer length, leading to the address buffer containing uninitialized stack data instead of the actual peer address. The invalid peer address is then used as destination for the outgoing packets which leads to a connectivity breakage and a leakage of the uninitialized stack data to passive network observers. FIPS impact: no The FIPS modules in 4.0, 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, and 3.0 are not affected by this CVE as the affected protocol is not implemented in the FIPS module.Weakness type (CWE) added —CWE-457Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/88xxx/CVE-2026-88822.json">CVE-2026-88822</a>Reference added —https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/1a73dc590cbad62d6f0329ea4779eadaa8d8fd75Reference added —https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/7b4f5344aa0401e7b777640050b5257ed2a70e88Reference added —https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/911eee8eb7550b95a206f1ad8cbdb986098982f3Reference added —https://openssl-library.org/news/secadv/20261110.txtSource identifier: openssl-security@openssl.org
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-88822"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-88822.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-88822 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>