wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert in the OpenSSL compatibility layer accepts a certificate chain in which the leaf's signature is not checked, if the attacker supplies an untrusted intermediate with Basic Constraints `CA:FALSE` that is legitimately signed by a trusted root. An attacker who obtains any leaf certificate from a trusted CA (e.g. a free DV cert from Let's Encrypt) can forge a certificate for any subject name with any public key and arbitrary signature bytes, and the function returns `WOLFSSL_SUCCESS` / `X509_V_OK`. The native wolfSSL TLS handshake path (`ProcessPeerCerts`) is not susceptible and the issue is limited to applications using the OpenSSL compatibility API directly, which would include integrations of wolfSSL into nginx and haproxy.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
References
| Link | Providers |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/wolfSSL/wolfssl/pull/10102 |
|
History
Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
ssvc
|
Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Wolfssl
Wolfssl wolfssl |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Wolfssl
Wolfssl wolfssl |
Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | wolfSSL_X509_verify_cert in the OpenSSL compatibility layer accepts a certificate chain in which the leaf's signature is not checked, if the attacker supplies an untrusted intermediate with Basic Constraints `CA:FALSE` that is legitimately signed by a trusted root. An attacker who obtains any leaf certificate from a trusted CA (e.g. a free DV cert from Let's Encrypt) can forge a certificate for any subject name with any public key and arbitrary signature bytes, and the function returns `WOLFSSL_SUCCESS` / `X509_V_OK`. The native wolfSSL TLS handshake path (`ProcessPeerCerts`) is not susceptible and the issue is limited to applications using the OpenSSL compatibility API directly, which would include integrations of wolfSSL into nginx and haproxy. | |
| Title | Improper Certificate Signature Verification in X.509 Chain Validation Allows Forged Leaf Certificates | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-295 | |
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
cvssV4_0
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: wolfSSL
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-10T13:43:04.704Z
Reserved: 2026-04-03T15:46:09.302Z
Link: CVE-2026-5501
Updated: 2026-04-10T13:43:00.745Z
Status : Received
Published: 2026-04-10T04:17:17.230
Modified: 2026-04-10T04:17:17.230
Link: CVE-2026-5501
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-04-10T09:26:56Z