CVE-2014-0016
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL...
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), which causes subsequent children with the same process ID to use the same entropy pool and allows remote attackers to obtain private keys for EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates.
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
4.3
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), which causes subsequent children with the same process ID to use the same entropy pool and allows remote attackers to obtain private keys for EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates.
- Record
CVE-2014-0016- CVSS 2.0
- 4.3 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-332
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), which causes subsequent children with the same process ID to use the same entropy pool and allows remote attackers to obtain private keys for EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates.
- Record
CVE-2014-0016- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2014-0117 No score
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), which causes subsequent children with the same process ID to use the same entropy pool and allows remote attackers to obtain private keys for EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates.
- Record
EUVD-2014-0117- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-xxr9-37w5-wgwc No score
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL...
stunnel before 5.00, when using fork threading, does not properly update the state of the OpenSSL pseudo-random number generator (PRNG), which causes subsequent children with the same process ID to use the same entropy pool and allows remote attackers to obtain private keys for EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates.
- Record
GHSA-xxr9-37w5-wgwc- Weakness
- CWE-332
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2014-0144 No score
Updated stunnel package fixes security vulnerability
A flaw was found in the way stunnel, a socket wrapper which can provide SSL support to ordinary applications, performed (re)initialization of PRNG after fork. When accepting a new connection, the server forks and the child process handles the request. The RAND_bytes() function of openssl doesn't reset its state after the fork, but seeds the PRNG with the output of time(NULL). The most important consequence is that servers using EC (ECDSA) or DSA certificates may under certain conditions leak their private key (CVE-2014-0016).
The updated packages fix this issue by using threads instead of new processes to handle connections.
Also an issue has been corrected where the directory for the pid file was not being created when the package is installed.
An issue currently exists in Mageia 4 where it fails trying to use FIPS SSL (mga#13124). This can be worked around by adding fips = no into the config.
- Record
MGASA-2014-0144- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:10289-1 No score
stunnel-5.38-1.1 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the stunnel-5.38-1.1 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:10289-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2014-0016 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.3) in Stunnel, published March 23, 2014. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.15%, the 82nd percentile. Fixed in stunnel 4.55-1.2.mga3.
References
stunnel.org/sdf_ChangeLog.html
bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=870826&action=diff
openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2014/03/05/1
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1072180
securityfocus.com/bid/65964
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-0016