CVE-2022-1473Network attack vector

Process termination via hash-table memory exhaustion

Published May 3, 2022 · Updated May 5, 2025

Resource exhaustion in OpenSSL 3.0.0 through 3.0.2 allows remote attackers to interrupt long-lived processes through repeated decoding. OPENSSL_LH_flush clears every hash bucket but leaves lh->num_items unchanged, so later reuse treats removed entries as live and repeatedly grows the table. Exposure requires a long-lived process that repeatedly decodes certificates or keys, such as a TLS client or a server accepting client certificates; exhaustion slows traversal and can terminate the process.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability2.52%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in OpenSSL 3.0.0 through 3.0.2 allows remote attackers to interrupt long-lived processes through repeated decoding. OPENSSL_LH_flush clears every hash bucket but leaves lh->num_items unchanged, so later reuse treats removed entries as live and repeatedly grows the table. Exposure requires a long-lived process that repeatedly decodes certificates or keys, such as a TLS client or a server accepting client certificates; exhaustion slows traversal and can terminate the process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-1473
Published
May 3, 2022
Updated
May 5, 2025
Vendor
OpenSSL Project
Product
OpenSSL
Classifications
CWE-459, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 3, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.3 (Affected 3.0.0,3.0.1,3.0.2)

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenSSL Project · OpenSSLversion=Fixed in OpenSSL 3.0.3 (Affected 3.0.0,3.0.1,3.0.2)

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-459Incomplete Cleanup
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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