CVE-2026-84471

Awaiting Analysis Awaiting Analysis - Queue

Use-After-Free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 to 2.6.22 and 2.7.0 to 2.7.7

Publication date: 2026-10-14

Last updated on: 2026-10-16

Assigner: OpenVPN Inc.

Description

The fix for CVE-2026-12996 was incomplete. A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.7 allows remote authenticated peers to potentially cause a denial of service or leak memory via crafted packets during TLS session promotion or expiry.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published

2026-10-14

Last Modified

2026-10-16

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2026-84471

EUVD

EUVD-2026-101085

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
OpenVPN	OpenVPN	2.6.0
OpenVPN	OpenVPN	2.7_alpha1

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-416	The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-84471 is a use-after-free vulnerability in OpenVPN versions 2.6.0 through 2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.7. It occurs when a TLS session buffer is improperly handled during promotion or expiry, allowing remote authenticated peers to cause a denial of service or memory leaks via crafted packets.

Detection Guidance

To detect this vulnerability, check your OpenVPN version against affected ranges (2.6.0-2.6.22 and 2.7_alpha1-2.7.6). Use commands like 'openvpn --version' to verify the installed version. If vulnerable, update to versions 2.6.23 or 2.7.7 or later.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability may allow attackers to crash OpenVPN servers or leak sensitive memory contents. It requires remote authenticated peers, so untrusted network access increases risk. Users running affected versions should update to versions 2.6.23 or 2.7.7 or later to mitigate the issue.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards as it pertains to a technical flaw in OpenVPN's session handling. However, if exploited, it could lead to denial of service or memory leaks, potentially impacting data availability and integrity, which are key considerations under these regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Upgrade OpenVPN to version 2.6.23 or 2.7.7 or later to address the vulnerability. The flaw is fixed in these versions.

Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-84471. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.

0/70