CVE-2020-12457
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS)...
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
CVE-2020-12457- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
CVE-2020-12457- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-4768 No score
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
EUVD-2020-4768- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-85m8-xxmw-3hpv No score
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS)...
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
GHSA-85m8-xxmw-3hpv- Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
CVE-2020-12457- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-12457
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-12457- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-12457
An issue was discovered in wolfSSL before 4.5.0. It mishandles the change_cipher_spec (CCS) message processing logic for TLS 1.3. If an attacker sends ChangeCipherSpec messages in a crafted way involving more than one in a row, the server becomes stuck in the ProcessReply() loop, i.e., a denial of service.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-12457- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
wolfsslDebian:12 |
before 4.5.0+dfsg-1 | 4.5.0+dfsg-1 |
wolfsslDebian:13 |
before 4.5.0+dfsg-1 | 4.5.0+dfsg-1 |
wolfsslUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.4.8+dfsg-1 |
None known |
wolfsslUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.10.2+dfsg-23.12.0+dfsg-13.12.2+dfsg-13.13.0+dfsg-1 |
None known |
wolfsslUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 4.1.0+dfsg-24.2.0+dfsg-14.2.0+dfsg-24.2.0+dfsg-34.3.0+dfsg-2 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| 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-2020-12457 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Wolfssl, published August 21, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.53%, the 74th percentile. Fixed in wolfssl 4.5.0+dfsg-1.