Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-22023 affects NASA CryptoLib before 1.4.3, used for securing spacecraft-to-ground communications with SDLS-EP. A malformed encryption metadata input can trigger an out-of-bounds heap read. The published impact is mainly availability, not confidentiality or integrity. Systems using affected CryptoLib in mission or test communications should prioritize upgrading.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for affected mission, lab, or ground-system environments because availability of protected communications may be impacted. Prioritize upgrade planning where CryptoLib is operationally deployed; de-prioritize only after confirming the organization does not use affected versions.
Technical view
The vulnerability is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds heap read in cryptography_aead_encrypt(), tied to KMC AEAD encrypt metadata parsing and a flawed strtok pattern. CVSS 4.0 score is 8.2, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high vulnerable-system availability impact. Fixed in CryptoLib 1.4.3.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to organizations that build or deploy NASA CryptoLib before 1.4.3, especially cFS spacecraft or ground-station communication stacks using SDLS-EP. Internet exposure depends on deployment architecture and is not established by the sources.
Exploitation context
The CVE record does not indicate CISA KEV listing, and the provided sources do not claim active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates remote reachability under specific attack requirements, with likely denial-of-service style impact from invalid metadata parsing.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strongest for affected version range, vulnerable function, CWE, CVSS, and fixed release. The public bundle does not provide exploit details, active exploitation evidence, or environment-specific compensating controls. Validate exposure through software composition and deployment review rather than assuming broad internet-facing risk.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade NASA CryptoLib to version 1.4.3 or later.
- Review the GitHub advisory and release notes before deployment.
- If immediate upgrade is not possible, consult vendor guidance for interim controls.
- Limit untrusted access to CryptoLib-backed communication interfaces where operationally feasible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory applications and firmware using NASA CryptoLib.
- Confirm deployed CryptoLib versions are 1.4.3 or later.
- Review dependency manifests, build artifacts, and embedded copies for older CryptoLib code.
- Check change control records for adoption of commit 2372efd3da1ccb226b4297222e25f41ecc84821d.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-22023 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.2 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/security/advisories/GHSA-8w3h-q8jm-3chqCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/commit/2372efd3da1ccb226b4297222e25f41ecc84821dCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/releases/tag/v1.4.3CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.