January 30, 2026
Crypto’s IV league drama
Potentially Critical RCE Vulnerability in OpenSSL
OpenSSL bug sparks panic, patches, and “I told you so” vibes
TLDR: A new OpenSSL flaw could let attackers run code on systems using versions 3.0–3.6, so updates are urgent. Comments split between alarm bells and “it’s mostly CMS” nuance, with admins bracing for weekend patches and some bragging their older 1.1.1 setups dodged the blast.
OpenSSL just dropped a spicy bomb: CVE-2025-15467, a stack overflow that could let hackers run code on your machine (that’s what “remote code execution” means). It hits versions 3.0–3.6 and comes from oversized data in a message format called CMS, used for secure emails. OpenSSL says it’s high severity; some expect NVD to call it Critical. FIPS-certified modules aren’t affected, and older 1.1.1/1.0.2 versions skate by. Patch paths are already posted (3.6.1, 3.5.5, 3.4.4, 3.3.6, 3.0.19). JFrog reproduced the bug in the lab, but real-world attacks might need extra tricks to bypass protections.
The community? A three-act drama. Act 1: Patch-now panic—admins dreading a weekend of emergency updates and calling this “email crypto meets chaos.” Act 2: Calm-down crowd—waving receipts that it’s mostly CMS paths and not FIPS, urging context over headlines. Act 3: Smug nostalgics—flexing that their older 1.1.1 installs are fine, serving pure “told you so” energy. Crypto nerds argued over why CMS lives inside OpenSSL at all, while ops folks joked RCE stands for “Really Chaotic Evening.” There’s cross-linking to earlier chatter, like whizzter’s pointer to the prior HN thread. Whatever your camp, the vibe is: update fast, debate faster, sleep later.
Key Points
- •CVE-2025-15467 is a stack overflow in OpenSSL’s CMS AuthEnvelopedData parsing that may enable RCE.
- •Affected OpenSSL versions are 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, and 3.0; versions 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are not affected.
- •FIPS modules in OpenSSL 3.x are not impacted because CMS is outside the module boundary.
- •Exploitation can be triggered via multiple APIs and tools (e.g., CMS_decrypt, openssl cms/smime); JFrog reproduced code execution.
- •Patches are available: 3.6.1, 3.5.5, 3.4.4, 3.3.6, and 3.0.19; the overflow occurs before authentication.