How severe is CVE-2022-3996?

CVE-2022-3996 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2022-3996 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (65th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2022-3996?

CVE-2022-3996 affects Openssl. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2022-3996?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2022-3996 published?

CVE-2022-3996 was published on 2022-12-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2022-3996

CVE-2022-3996 is a high-severity vulnerability in Openssl with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. 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-667.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (65th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-667
Affected product: Openssl
Published: 2022-12-13
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

If an X.509 certificate contains a malformed policy constraint and policy processing is enabled, then a write lock will be taken twice recursively. On some operating systems (most widely: Windows) this results in a denial of service when the affected process hangs. Policy processing being enabled on a publicly facing server is not considered to be a common setup. Policy processing is enabled by passing the `-policy' argument to the command line utilities or by calling the `X509_VERIFY_PARAM_set1_policies()' function. Update (31 March 2023): The description of the policy processing enablement was corrected based on CVE-2023-0466.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-3996?: If an X.509 certificate contains a malformed policy constraint and policy processing is enabled, then a write lock will be taken twice recursively. On some operating systems (most widely: Windows) this results in a denial of service when the affected process hangs. Policy processing being enabled on a publicly facing server is not considered to be a common setup. Policy processing is enabled by passing the `-policy' argument to the command line utilities or by calling the `X509_VERIFY_PARAM_set1_policies()' function. Update (31 March 2023): The description of the policy processing enablement was corrected based on CVE-2023-0466.
How severe is CVE-2022-3996?: CVE-2022-3996 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2022-3996 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (65th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2022-3996?: CVE-2022-3996 affects Openssl. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2022-3996?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2022-3996 published?: CVE-2022-3996 was published on 2022-12-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:openssl:openssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Other CWE-667 (Improper Locking) vulnerabilities

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CVE-2026-31629 — High (CVSS 8.8): In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfc: llcp: add missing return after LLCP_CLOSED…
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Browse all CWE-667 (Improper Locking) vulnerabilities →

Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

103.90.227.203 (ipv4-addr)
161.97.123.14 (ipv4-addr)
14.161.12.247 (ipv4-addr)
109.236.86.20 (ipv4-addr)