CVE-2021-3450 CA certificate check bypass with X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT
Summary (taken from OpenSSL public message on this CVE)
The X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT flag enables additional security checks of the certificates present in a certificate chain. It is not set by default.
Starting from OpenSSL version 1.1.1h a check to disallow certificates in the chain that have explicitly encoded elliptic curve parameters was added as an additional strict check.
An error in the implementation of this check meant that the result of a previous check to confirm that certificates in the chain are valid CA certificates was overwritten. This effectively bypasses the check that non-CA certificates must not be able to issue other certificates.
If a "purpose" has been configured then there is a subsequent opportunity for checks that the certificate is a valid CA. All of the named "purpose" values implemented in libcrypto perform this check. Therefore, where a purpose is set the certificate chain will still be rejected even when the strict flag has been used. A purpose is set by default in libssl client and server certificate verification routines, but it can be overridden or removed by an application.
In order to be affected, an application must explicitly set the X509_V_FLAG_X509_STRICT verification flag and either not set a purpose for the certificate verification or, in the case of TLS client or server applications, override the default purpose.
Is LoadMaster vulnerable?
LoadMaster is not impacted.
Is Kemp 360 Central vulnerable?
Kemp 360 Central is not impacted.
Is Kemp 360 Vision vulnerable?
Kemp 360 Vision is not impacted.
Recommended Actions
NA
Additional Information
For additional information about the discovered vulnerability:
CVE-2021-3450 (cve.mitre.org and NIST)
These pages also include the latest links to the security pages for the platform providers.
Kemp is committed to resolving security vulnerabilities carefully and quickly. If you think you have found a security flaw in a Kemp product, please send all supporting information to securityalert@kemp.ax.