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.
History

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 01:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-770
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'}

threat_severity

Moderate


Tue, 29 Sep 2026 17:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Openssl
Openssl openssl
Vendors & Products Openssl
Openssl openssl

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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.
Title Potential CPU DoS via O(n^2) Fragment Reassembly in QUIC
Weaknesses CWE-407
References

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: openssl

Published: 2026-09-29T15:32:14.009Z

Updated: 2026-09-30T20:11:09.295Z

Reserved: 2026-04-29T09:22:27.969Z

Link: CVE-2026-42772

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-30T19:35:50.299Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-09-29T16:17:07.640

Modified: 2026-10-08T01:18:57.547

Link: CVE-2026-42772

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-09-29T15:32:14Z

Links: CVE-2026-42772 - Bugzilla