Forge: X.509 basicConstraints bypass in verifyCertificateChain() via deprecated extension OIDs 2.5.29.10 and 2.5.29.13
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- Fix
- Fixed in 1.4.1
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
- Exploitation: poc
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: total
Summary
Forge (node-forge), a JavaScript implementation of TLS and X.509 tooling, is affected in versions before 1.4.1. The flaw lets a certificate holder bypass basicConstraints checks in certificate chain verification, potentially making a non-CA certificate be accepted as a certificate authority and used to impersonate servers or clients.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
Forge (also called node-forge) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to 1.4.1, node-forge parsed deprecated extension OIDs 2.5.29.10 and 2.5.29.13 as basicConstraints, and pki.verifyCertificateChain() used the first extension with that name. Exploitation requires a CA trusted by the application to issue a certificate carrying an attacker-supplied deprecated-OID extension, commonly because the CA copies extensions from a certificate signing request. By placing a permissive deprecated extension before the genuine 2.5.29.19 basicConstraints extension, the certificate holder could have the certificate accepted as a CA and issue certificates for arbitrary names, enabling server or client impersonation. If the issuing CA adds a keyUsage extension without keyCertSign, node-forge rejects the chain. This issue is fixed in version 1.4.1.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- digitalbazaar forge
fixed in 1.4.1