Vulnerability HighRUSTSEC-2023-0012 · openssl-src
RUSTSEC-2023-0012: `NULL` dereference validating DSA public key
Short answerA security vulnerability in the openssl-src crate: `NULL` dereference validating DSA public key. GitHub rates it High. Fixed in 300.0.12: update to a fixed version.
| Crate | openssl-src |
|---|---|
| Type | Vulnerability (denial-of-service) |
| Affected versions | From 300.0.0 before 300.0.12. |
| Fixed in | 300.0.12 |
| Severity | High (GitHub rating) |
| Published | 2023-02-07 |
| Last changed | 2023-11-08 |
| Also known as | CVE-2023-0217, GHSA-vxrh-cpg7-8vjr |
What to do
- See which version you have:
cargo tree -i openssl-src(it also shows which of your dependencies pulls it in). - Update within your version requirement:
cargo update -p openssl-src. If the fix is a newer major or minor than your requirement allows, raise it in Cargo.toml (for exampleopenssl-src = "300.0.12") or update the dependency that pulls it in. - Check again with
cargo audit, or paste your Cargo.lock into our Cargo.toml checker.
Details from the advisory
An invalid pointer dereference on read can be triggered when an application tries to check a malformed DSA public key by the EVP_PKEY_public_check() function. This will most likely lead to an application crash. This function can be called on public keys supplied from untrusted sources which could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service attack.
The TLS implementation in OpenSSL does not call this function but applications might call the function if there are additional security requirements imposed by standards such as FIPS 140-3.
References
- Package: crates.io/crates/openssl-src
- Advisory: rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2023-0012.html
- Web: www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230207.txt
From the RustSec Advisory Database (CC0-1.0) via the OSV export, downloaded Oct 24, 2026. Severity score computed from the published CVSS vector.
Other advisories for openssl-src
- Vulnerability HighRUSTSEC-2020-0015 · 2020-04-25Crash causing Denial of Service attack
- Vulnerability MediumRUSTSEC-2021-0055 · 2021-05-01NULL pointer deref in signature_algorithms processing
- Vulnerability HighRUSTSEC-2021-0056 · 2021-05-01CA certificate check bypass with X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT
- Vulnerability HighRUSTSEC-2021-0057 · 2021-05-01Integer overflow in CipherUpdate
- Vulnerability MediumRUSTSEC-2021-0058 · 2021-05-01Null pointer deref in `X509_issuer_and_serial_hash()`
- Vulnerability CriticalRUSTSEC-2021-0097 · 2021-08-24SM2 Decryption Buffer Overflow
- Vulnerability HighRUSTSEC-2021-0098 · 2021-08-24Read buffer overruns processing ASN.1 strings
- VulnerabilityRUSTSEC-2021-0129 · 2021-12-14Invalid handling of `X509_verify_cert()` internal errors in libssl
Up next
Same crateopenssl-src: security historyEvery advisory for this crate, and whether it is safe to use today.Read it next →Did this answer your question?