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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-22026: nasa CryptoLib · Excessive Memory Allocation

Affects nasa CryptoLibSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High : upgrade to 1.4.3 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score
8.2High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 1.4.3
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 10 Jan 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade CryptoLib and nasa/CryptoLib to 1.4.3.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
nasaCryptoLibAffected
  • <1.4.3
Fixed in
  • 1.4.3
GitHubnasa/CryptoLibpkg:github/nasa/CryptoLibOther threatsAffected
  • <1.4.3
Fixed in
  • 1.4.3

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

The primary mitigation is to upgrade NASA's CryptoLib to version 1.4.3 or later, where the vulnerability has been patched by adding size limits and overflow checks in the libcurl write_callback function. Organizations should audit their software supply chain and deployed systems to identify any instances of CryptoLib versions earlier than 1.4.3, especially within KMC crypto service clients. Implement network-level protections such as strict firewall rules and allowlisting to restrict communications to trusted KMC servers, reducing exposure to malicious or compromised servers. Employ runtime monitoring and resource usage alerts to detect abnormal memory consumption patterns indicative of exploitation attempts. Where possible, sandbox or isolate the KMC client processes to limit the impact of crashes or resource exhaustion on broader system stability. Conduct regular vulnerability scanning and penetration testing focused on space communication components to identify and remediate similar memory allocation issues. Finally, maintain close coordination with NASA and relevant aerospace cybersecurity authorities for updates and threat intelligence related to CryptoLib and associated protocols.

Description

CryptoLib provides a software-only solution using the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol - Extended Procedures (SDLS-EP) to secure communications between a spacecraft running the core Flight System (cFS) and a ground station. Prior to version 1.4.3, the libcurl write_callback function in the KMC crypto service client allows unbounded memory growth by reallocating response buffers without any size limit or overflow check. A malicious KMC server can return arbitrarily large HTTP responses, forcing the client to allocate excessive memory until the process is terminated by the OS. This issue has been patched in version 1.4.3.

References

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