CVE-2026-35199
Published:April 06, 2026
Updated:April 20, 2026
SymCrypt is the core cryptographic function library currently used by Windows. From 103.5.0 to before 103.11.0, The SymCryptXmssSign function passes a 64-bit leaf count value to a helper function that accepts a 32-bit parameter. For XMSS^MT parameter sets with total tree height >= 32 (which includes standard predefined parameters), this causes silent truncation to zero, resulting in a drastically undersized scratch buffer allocation followed by a heap buffer overflow during signature computation. Exploiting this issue would require an application using SymCrypt to perform an XMSS^MT signature using an attacker-controlled parameter set. It is uncommon for applications to allow the use of attacker-controlled parameter sets for signing, since signing is a private key operation, and private keys must be trusted by definition. Additionally, XMSS(^MT) signing should only be performed in a Hardware Security Module (HSM). XMSS(^MT) signing is provided in SymCrypt only for testing purposes. This is a general rule irrespective of this CVE; XMSS(^MT) and other stateful signature schemes are only cryptographically secure when it is guaranteed that the same state cannot be reused for two different signatures, which cannot be guaranteed by software alone. For this reason, XMSS(^MT) signing is also not FIPS approved when performed outside of an HSM. Fixed in version 103.11.0.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/microsoft/SymCrypt.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=v103.5.0 <v103.11.0Fix Suggestion:
Update to version v103.11.0Related Resources (1)
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Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
6.9
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
NONE
Vulnerable System Integrity
LOW
Vulnerable System Availability
HIGH
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
6.1
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
LOW
Availability
HIGH
Weakness Type (CWE)
Heap-based Buffer Overflow
EPSS
Base Score:
0.06