wolfEngine before 1.4.1 generates the 8-byte explicit AES-GCM nonce once when the TLS write key is set and never increments it per record. As a result every TLS 1.2 and DTLS 1.2 AES-GCM record within a connection is encrypted under an identical key and nonce pair. Reusing a GCM key and nonce discloses the keystream (the XOR of two ciphertexts equals the XOR of their plaintexts, so one known record recovers the others) and leaks the GHASH authentication key, enabling authentication tag forgery. AES-CCM, TLS 1.3, and non-TLS use of the cipher are not affected.

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

Upgrade to wolfEngine 1.4.1, which increments the explicit nonce after each record. As an interim mitigation use AES-CCM or TLS 1.3 instead of TLS 1.2 / DTLS 1.2 AES-GCM.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Wolfssl
Wolfssl wolfengine
Vendors & Products Wolfssl
Wolfssl wolfengine

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description wolfEngine before 1.4.1 generates the 8-byte explicit AES-GCM nonce once when the TLS write key is set and never increments it per record. As a result every TLS 1.2 and DTLS 1.2 AES-GCM record within a connection is encrypted under an identical key and nonce pair. Reusing a GCM key and nonce discloses the keystream (the XOR of two ciphertexts equals the XOR of their plaintexts, so one known record recovers the others) and leaks the GHASH authentication key, enabling authentication tag forgery. AES-CCM, TLS 1.3, and non-TLS use of the cipher are not affected.
Title wolfEngine reuses the AES-GCM nonce on every TLS 1.2 / DTLS 1.2 record
Weaknesses CWE-323
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: wolfSSL

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-28T18:19:58.580Z

Reserved: 2026-08-26T14:40:11.656Z

Link: CVE-2026-81020

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-28T16:18:28.890

Modified: 2026-08-28T20:20:08.780

Link: CVE-2026-81020

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-28T20:31:48Z

Weaknesses