CVE-2024-4603Network attack vector

Service delays via unbounded DSA modulus validation

Published May 16, 2024 · Updated Oct 14, 2024

Denial of service in OpenSSL allows remote attackers to cause long processing delays with oversized DSA keys or parameters. The DSA checks reached through EVP_PKEY_param_check() and EVP_PKEY_public_check() perform expensive validation without first limiting the bit length of the p modulus. Reachability requires an application to pass attacker-controlled DSA material directly to either API, or use of the pkey or pkeyparam command with -check; OpenSSL's SSL/TLS implementation is unaffected.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability1.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Denial of service in OpenSSL allows remote attackers to cause long processing delays with oversized DSA keys or parameters. The DSA checks reached through EVP_PKEY_param_check() and EVP_PKEY_public_check() perform expensive validation without first limiting the bit length of the p modulus. Reachability requires an application to pass attacker-controlled DSA material directly to either API, or use of the pkey or pkeyparam command with -check; OpenSSL's SSL/TLS implementation is unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2024-4603
Published
May 16, 2024
Updated
Oct 14, 2024
Vendor
OpenSSL Project
Product
OpenSSL
Classifications
CWE-834, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 16, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 14, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=3.0.0 <3.0.14
  2. Affected versionversion=3.1.0 <3.1.6
  3. Affected versionversion=3.2.0 <3.2.2
  4. Affected versionversion=3.3.0 <3.3.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenSSL Project · OpenSSLversion=3.0.0 <3.0.14; version=3.1.0 <3.1.6; version=3.2.0 <3.2.2; version=3.3.0 <3.3.1

Published CVSS scores

5.3CISACVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-834Excessive Iteration
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo