ZDF
Sign inSign up

Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2022-4450

The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads a PEM file from a BIO and parses and decodes the "name" (e.g.

Published Feb 8, 2023 · catalog updated Oct 14, 2026 · The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads

Check this week

CVE-2022-4450 is not in CISA KEV. FIRST estimates a 28.59% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Check whether you run The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads.

Gaps on this record

  • The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads).
  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
High7.5
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
28.59%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe openssl/openssl · cpe stormshield/stormshield network security

The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads a PEM file from a BIO and parses and decodes the "name" (e.g. "CERTIFICATE"), any header data and the payload data. If the function succeeds then the "name_out", "header" and "data" arguments are populated with pointers to buffers containing the relevant decoded data. The caller is responsible for freeing those buffers. It is possible to construct a PEM file that results in 0 bytes of payload data. In this case PEM_read_bio_ex() will return a failure code but will populate the header argument with a pointer to a buffer that has already been freed. If the caller also frees this buffer then a double free will occur. This will most likely lead to a crash. This could be exploited by an attacker who has the ability to supply malicious PEM files for parsing to achieve a denial of service attack. The functions PEM_read_bio() and PEM_read() are simple wrappers around PEM_read_bio_ex() and therefore these functions are also directly affected. These functions are also called indirectly by a number of other OpenSSL functions including PEM_X509_INFO_read_bio_ex() and SSL_CTX_use_serverinfo_file() which are also vulnerable. Some OpenSSL internal uses of these functions are not vulnerable because the caller does not free the header argument if PEM_read_bio_ex() returns a failure code. These locations include the PEM_read_bio_TYPE() functions as well as the decoders introduced in OpenSSL 3.0. The OpenSSL asn1parse command line application is also impacted by this issue.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe openssl/opensslversion unspecified
  • cpe stormshield/stormshield network securityversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2022-4450

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2022-4450 is not in CISA KEV. FIRST estimates a 28.59% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Check whether you run The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-415: Double Free. EPSS 28.59%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Feb 8, 2023 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads a PEM file from a BIO and parses and decodes the "name" (e.g. "CERTIFICATE"), any header data and the payload data. If the function succeeds then the "name_out", "header" and "data" arguments are populated with pointers to buffers containing the relevant decoded data. The caller is responsible for freeing those buffers. It is possible to construct a PEM file th

  2. Oct 14, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads a PEM file from a BIO and parses and decodes the "name" (e.g. "CERTIFICATE"), any header data and the payload data. If the function succeeds then the "name_out", "header" and "data" arguments are populated with pointers to buffers containing the relevant decoded data. The caller is responsible for freeing those buffers. It is possible to construct a PEM file th

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2022-4450

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2022-4450

    30-day exploitation probability 28.6%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2022-4450

    The function PEM_read_bio_ex() reads a PEM file from a BIO and parses and decodes the "name" (e.g. "CERTIFICATE"), any header data and the payload data. If the function succeeds then the "name_out", "header" and "data" arguments are populated with pointers to buffers containing t

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 16, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.