CVE-2015-5291

CVE-2015-5291 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Polarssl with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-119.

Key facts

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in PolarSSL 1.x before 1.2.17 and ARM mbed TLS (formerly PolarSSL) 1.3.x before 1.3.14 and 2.x before 2.1.2 allows remote SSL servers to cause a denial of service (client crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long hostname to the server name indication (SNI) extension, which is not properly handled when creating a ClientHello message. NOTE: this identifier has been SPLIT per ADT3 due to different affected version ranges. See CVE-2015-8036 for the session ticket issue that was introduced in 1.3.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2015-5291?
Heap-based buffer overflow in PolarSSL 1.x before 1.2.17 and ARM mbed TLS (formerly PolarSSL) 1.3.x before 1.3.14 and 2.x before 2.1.2 allows remote SSL servers to cause a denial of service (client crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long hostname to the server name indication (SNI) extension, which is not properly handled when creating a ClientHello message. NOTE: this identifier has been SPLIT per ADT3 due to different affected version ranges. See CVE-2015-8036 for the session ticket issue that was introduced in 1.3.0.
How severe is CVE-2015-5291?
CVE-2015-5291 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2015-5291 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (88th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2015-5291?
CVE-2015-5291 primarily affects Polarssl. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2015-5291?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2015-5291 published?
CVE-2015-5291 was published on 2015-11-02 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (9)

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