Forge has a basicConstraints bypass in its certificate chain verification (RFC 5280 violation)

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-33896
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-03-27 21:17:26 UTC
Updated2026-03-30 19:16:25 UTC
DescriptionForge (also called `node-forge`) is a native implementation of Transport Layer Security in JavaScript. Prior to version 1.4.0, `pki.verifyCertificateChain()` does not enforce RFC 5280 basicConstraints requirements when an intermediate certificate lacks both the `basicConstraints` and `keyUsage` extensions. This allows any leaf certificate (without these extensions) to act as a CA and sign other certificates, which node-forge will accept as valid. Version 1.4.0 patches the issue.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.4 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS: 0.000170000 probability, percentile 0.040990000 (date 2026-04-01)

Problem Types: CWE-295 | CWE-295 CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.4HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.1CNADECLARED7.4HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Digitalbazaar Forge affected < 1.4.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/commit/2e492832fb25227e6b647cbe1ac981c123... [email protected] github.com
github.com/digitalbazaar/forge/security/advisories/GHSA-2328-f5f3-gj25 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 github.com
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