CVE-2026-42772 (GCVE-0-2026-42772)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-29 15:32 – Updated: 2026-09-29 15:32
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Potential CPU DoS via O(n^2) Fragment Reassembly in QUIC
Summary
Issue summary: The QUIC stream reassembly algorithm performance deteriorates
progressively as packets are arriving out of order. The worst case has
a quadratic complexity proportional to the number of stream frames kept in
the buffer for the received stream data.
Impact summary: A remote QUIC peer that completes the handshake can create
a connection-scoped CPU pressure and potentially a Denial of Service using
compliant STREAM frames inside the advertised receive window, with low
attacker bandwidth.
CWE: CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity
Description: OpenSSL manages received QUIC stream fragments using a
doubly-linked list. While it optimizes for append operations (at the end of
the list), it falls back to a head-to-tail linear search for any fragment
that does not immediately follow the current `tail`.
By manipulating the sequence of offsets, an attacker can force the server
to perform O(n^2) operations, consuming excessive CPU time for the
QUIC process.
FIPS impact: no
The FIPS module is not affected as the QUIC implementation is outside of
the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
CWE
- CWE-407 - Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity
Assigner
References
5 references
Impacted products
Date Public
2026-09-29 14:21
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"value": "Issue summary: The QUIC stream reassembly algorithm performance deteriorates\u003cbr\u003eprogressively as packets are arriving out of order. The worst case has\u003cbr\u003ea quadratic complexity proportional to the number of stream frames kept in\u003cbr\u003ethe buffer for the received stream data.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eImpact summary: A remote QUIC peer that completes the handshake can create\u003cbr\u003ea connection-scoped CPU pressure and potentially a Denial of Service using\u003cbr\u003ecompliant STREAM frames inside the advertised receive window, with low\u003cbr\u003eattacker bandwidth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCWE: CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDescription: OpenSSL manages received QUIC stream fragments using a\u003cbr\u003edoubly-linked list. While it optimizes for append operations (at the end of\u003cbr\u003ethe list), it falls back to a head-to-tail linear search for any fragment\u003cbr\u003ethat does not immediately follow the current `tail`.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy manipulating the sequence of offsets, an attacker can force the server\u003cbr\u003eto perform O(n^2) operations, consuming excessive CPU time for the\u003cbr\u003eQUIC process.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFIPS impact: no\u003cbr\u003eThe FIPS module is not affected as the QUIC implementation is outside of\u003cbr\u003ethe OpenSSL FIPS module boundary."
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"name": "OpenSSL Advisory",
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"url": "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/f42ae513bbda513b3c121d54834040ee4a0eae1a"
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"url": "https://github.com/openssl/openssl/commit/32d0ed8afe1b8c3e7ece725b44663da3d7087a09"
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"source": {
"discovery": "UNKNOWN"
},
"title": "Potential CPU DoS via O(n^2) Fragment Reassembly in QUIC",
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"datePublished": "2026-09-29T15:32:14.009Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-04-29T09:22:27.969Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-09-29T15:32:14.009Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
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"version": "4.0.0",
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"status": "affected",
"version": "3.6.0",
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"source": "openssl-security@openssl.org"
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"descriptions": [
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"lang": "en",
"value": "Issue summary: The QUIC stream reassembly algorithm performance deteriorates\nprogressively as packets are arriving out of order. The worst case has\na quadratic complexity proportional to the number of stream frames kept in\nthe buffer for the received stream data.\n\nImpact summary: A remote QUIC peer that completes the handshake can create\na connection-scoped CPU pressure and potentially a Denial of Service using\ncompliant STREAM frames inside the advertised receive window, with low\nattacker bandwidth.\n\nCWE: CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity\n\nDescription: OpenSSL manages received QUIC stream fragments using a\ndoubly-linked list. While it optimizes for append operations (at the end of\nthe list), it falls back to a head-to-tail linear search for any fragment\nthat does not immediately follow the current `tail`.\n\nBy manipulating the sequence of offsets, an attacker can force the server\nto perform O(n^2) operations, consuming excessive CPU time for the\nQUIC process.\n\nFIPS impact: no\nThe FIPS module is not affected as the QUIC implementation is outside of\nthe OpenSSL FIPS module boundary."
}
],
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"lastModified": "2026-09-29T21:27:41.130",
"metrics": {},
"published": "2026-09-29T16:17:07.640",
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"current_release_date": "2026-09-29T23:07:15+00:00",
"cve": "CVE-2026-42772",
"id": "CVE-2026-42772",
"initial_release_date": "2026-09-29T15:32:14.009000+00:00",
"product_status:known_affected": "88",
"product_status:known_not_affected": "1",
"source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
"status": "final",
"title": "openssl: openssl: Denial of Service via inefficient QUIC stream reassembly",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-42772.json",
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}
}
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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
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- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
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vulnerability by the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-classification-roberta-base
model, served locally by ML-Gateway.
They have not been verified by an analyst and are provided for guidance only.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
The approach is described in our paper Mapping CVEs to MITRE ATT&CK Techniques: A Curated Gold-Set Classifier and the Limits of LLM-Assisted Label Expansion.
Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
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