CVE-2026-5503: out-of-bounds write in TLSX_EchChangeSNI via attacker-controlled publicName

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026. If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

0.5%

EPSS score, percentile 43.4 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

6.9 Medium

CVSS v4.0 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• 5.9.0 and earlier

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 29 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Versions not listed are: unaffected.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

In TLSX_EchChangeSNI, the ctx->extensions branch set extensions unconditionally even when TLSX_Find returned NULL. This caused TLSX_UseSNI to attach the attacker-controlled publicName to the shared WOLFSSL_CTX when no inner SNI was configured. TLSX_EchRestoreSNI then failed to clean it up because its removal was gated on serverNameX != NULL. The inner ClientHello was sized before the pollution bu…

Summary: CVE record, as of 29 Oct 2026.

• CISA has not added CVE-2026-5503 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, as of 29 Oct 2026.
• The CVE record was published on 9 Apr 2026.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 6.9 (Medium), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.5% (percentile 43.4), as of 29 Oct 2026. EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a report of exploitation.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact partial.
• The credits in the CVE record name Anthropic (Claude) as finder.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

out-of-bounds write in TLSX_EchChangeSNI via attacker-controlled publicName

In TLSX_EchChangeSNI, the ctx->extensions branch set extensions unconditionally even when TLSX_Find returned NULL. This caused TLSX_UseSNI to attach the attacker-controlled publicName to the shared WOLFSSL_CTX when no inner SNI was configured. TLSX_EchRestoreSNI then failed to clean it up because its removal was gated on serverNameX != NULL. The inner ClientHello was sized before the pollution but written after it, causing TLSX_SNI_Write to memcpy 255 bytes past the allocation boundary.

Source: CVE List, as of 29 Oct 2026. About the data.

Timeline