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.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
References
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
|
Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-770 | |
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
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 |
|
|
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
Updated: 2026-09-30T19:35:50.299Z
Status : Analyzed
Published: 2026-09-29T16:17:07.640
Modified: 2026-10-08T01:18:57.547
Link: CVE-2026-42772