Issue summary: Writing large, newline-free data into a BIO chain using the
line-buffering filter where the next BIO performs short writes can trigger
a heap-based out-of-bounds write.

Impact summary: This out-of-bounds write can cause memory corruption which
typically results in a crash, leading to Denial of Service for an application.

The line-buffering BIO filter (BIO_f_linebuffer) is not used by default in
TLS/SSL data paths. In OpenSSL command-line applications, it is typically
only pushed onto stdout/stderr on VMS systems. Third-party applications that
explicitly use this filter with a BIO chain that can short-write and that
write large, newline-free data influenced by an attacker would be affected.
However, the circumstances where this could happen are unlikely to be under
attacker control, and BIO_f_linebuffer is unlikely to be handling non-curated
data controlled by an attacker. For that reason the issue was assessed as
Low severity.

The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue,
as the BIO implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary.

OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are vulnerable to this issue.
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Issue summary: Writing large, newline-free data into a BIO chain using the line-buffering filter where the next BIO performs short writes can trigger a heap-based out-of-bounds write. Impact summary: This out-of-bounds write can cause memory corruption which typically results in a crash, leading to Denial of Service for an application. The line-buffering BIO filter (BIO_f_linebuffer) is not used by default in TLS/SSL data paths. In OpenSSL command-line applications, it is typically only pushed onto stdout/stderr on VMS systems. Third-party applications that explicitly use this filter with a BIO chain that can short-write and that write large, newline-free data influenced by an attacker would be affected. However, the circumstances where this could happen are unlikely to be under attacker control, and BIO_f_linebuffer is unlikely to be handling non-curated data controlled by an attacker. For that reason the issue was assessed as Low severity. The FIPS modules in 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.0 are not affected by this issue, as the BIO implementation is outside the OpenSSL FIPS module boundary. OpenSSL 3.6, 3.5, 3.4, 3.3, 3.0, 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are vulnerable to this issue.
Title Heap out-of-bounds write in BIO_f_linebuffer on short writes
Weaknesses CWE-787
References

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: openssl

Published:

Updated: 2026-01-27T16:01:23.181Z

Reserved: 2025-12-16T09:20:53.257Z

Link: CVE-2025-68160

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-01-27T16:16:15.900

Modified: 2026-01-27T16:16:15.900

Link: CVE-2025-68160

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses