TSA impersonation via naïve leaf certificate selection
Published Apr 8, 2026 · Updated Apr 8, 2026
Improper certificate validation in Trail of Bits rfc3161-client before 1.0.6 allows attackers to impersonate a trusted TSA. Verifier._verify_leaf_certs selects the first non-issuer certificate from an unordered PKCS#7 bag, then checks TSA pinning against that certificate instead of the signed SignerInfo identity. Attackers able to modify a timestamp response can inject qualifying certificates, causing an authentic timestamp from any trusted TSA to be accepted under a pinned TSA identity.
Summary
What happened
Improper certificate validation in Trail of Bits rfc3161-client before 1.0.6 allows attackers to impersonate a trusted TSA. Verifier._verify_leaf_certs selects the first non-issuer certificate from an unordered PKCS#7 bag, then checks TSA pinning against that certificate instead of the signed SignerInfo identity. Attackers able to modify a timestamp response can inject qualifying certificates, causing an authentic timestamp from any trusted TSA to be accepted under a pinned TSA identity.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-33753
- Published
- Apr 8, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 8, 2026
- Vendor
- Trail of Bits
- Product
- rfc3161-client
- Classifications
- CWE-295, T1553
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 8, 2026Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=< 1.0.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Public exploit references
- GHSA-3xxc-pwj6-jgrj proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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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