Software Engineering Institute

OpenSSL contains a vulnerability in the way specially crafted TLS handshake packets are handled that may result in a denial of service. According to OpenSSL Security Advisory [28-Mar-2008]:

... if the 'Server Key exchange message' is omitted from a TLS handshake in OpenSSL 0.9.8f and OpenSSL 0.9.8g. If a client connects to a malicious server with particular cipher suites, the server could cause the client to crash.

Note that this issue may affect OpenSSL versions prior to 0.9.8h.

A remote, unauthorized attacker may be able to cause a denial of service.

Upgrade or Apply Patch
OpenSSL has issued an upgrade and a patch to address this issue. See OpenSSL Security Advisory [28-Mar-2008] for more information. OpenSSL is included in various Linux and UNIX distributions. Please consult the relevant documentation of your distribution to obtain the appropriate updates.