Topic
OpenSSL
Node.js Issues Security Releases for 26.x, 24.x and 22.x Fixing High-Severity TLS and Brotli Flaws
Vulnerabilities & Exploits
Node.js Addresses 10 Vulnerabilities Including High-Severity RCE Risk in Brotli Decompression
Vulnerabilities & Exploits
Node.js Issues Security Updates Patching Ten Vulnerabilities Including High-Severity TLS Name Verification Bypasses
Vulnerabilities & ExploitsHash Functions Part 1: Core Properties, Security Requirements and Practical Applications
The article provides a detailed introduction to hash functions, explaining how they map arbitrary-length input to fixed-length output while satisfying three fundamental security properties. It covers preimage resistance, second preimage resistance, and collision resistance, along with the avalanche effect that makes even minor input changes produce unrecognizable output. The text explains why a 256-bit digest is required to achieve 128-bit collision resistance, referencing the birthday paradox and its implications for MD5 and SHA-1. Practical guidance includes using OpenSSL for hashing, applying hashes in commitment schemes, enforcing subresource integrity on web pages, and securely storing passwords with Argon2 and bcrypt. The post emphasizes that hash functions alone do not guarantee integrity without proper transmission of the digest and announces a follow-up on SHA-2 and SHA-3 internals.
From Root CA to User Authorization in nginx and Apache: Client Certificate Login Explained
This is the third installment in a detailed tutorial series covering the deployment of a two-tier PKI infrastructure with Root CA and intermediate CAs for Person, Server, and Code. The article provides comprehensive configuration guidance for enabling mTLS in nginx and Apache, including full references for all ssl_client_* variables and SSL directives. It explains the differences between password-based and certificate-based authentication, the TLS handshake steps involving CertificateRequest and CertificateVerify, and the importance of proper extendedKeyUsage settings such as clientAuth. Readers learn how to issue client certificates, package them in PKCS#12 format, enforce revocation checks via CRL and OCSP, and safely pass certificate fields to backend applications while mitigating risks from header spoofing. The guide also covers scenarios where the application itself terminates TLS without a reverse proxy and demonstrates login flows protected against CSRF using one-time tokens.
Russian Ministry Certificates Enable Potential State MITM on Foreign Domains
Russian companies facing sanctions have started adopting root certificates issued by the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications to maintain HTTPS access after commercial CAs revoked or refused to renew their certificates. Installing these Ministry certificates allows browsers to trust sites using Russian national CAs but also creates a pathway for man-in-the-middle interception by state-controlled entities. The article details a concrete threat model where a government-linked operator could use the Ministry root to generate on-the-fly certificates for any domain, including foreign services outside Russian jurisdiction. To mitigate this, the author demonstrates how to re-sign the Ministry root with OpenSSL nameConstraints limited to .ru, .su, and .рф domains only. Tests on macOS with Homebrew show that the constrained certificate still validates Russian banking sites such as online.sberbank.ru while correctly rejecting attempts to validate foreign domains like sberbank.com. The technique requires users to maintain their own cross-signed root and never rely on pre-installed Ministry or Yandex Browser roots for full protection.
Dangerous C++ Traps: Memory Safety Issues, Undefined Behavior, and Code That Betrays Developers
Around 70% of vulnerabilities assigned CVE numbers by Microsoft each year stem from memory safety errors, with Chromium reporting a similar pattern for serious Chrome bugs. The article examines how C++ deliberately permits low-level memory access for performance but demands strict discipline to avoid undefined behavior (UB). It details real-world cases including Heartbleed (CVE-2014-0160) in OpenSSL, use-after-free errors, buffer overflows, and data races. Modern tools such as AddressSanitizer, UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer, and ThreadSanitizer are presented as essential for detection, alongside recommendations for RAII, std::span, and smart pointers. The piece also discusses C++26 changes introducing erroneous behavior for uninitialized variables and advises when to consider memory-safe languages like Rust for new components. Practical migration steps and compiler warning strategies are outlined to reduce risk in existing codebases.
Dell Releases Security Update for PowerProtect Data Manager Fixing 359 Vulnerabilities
Dell has issued a security update for its data protection solution Dell PowerProtect Data Manager to address a total of 359 vulnerabilities. The company published security advisory DSA-2026-287 on July 14, 2026, rating the issues as Critical and urging users to apply the fixes immediately. Six product-specific flaws were resolved, including CVE-2026-40712 in the REST API that allows privilege escalation after input validation bypass and CVE-2026-49499 stemming from improper security token generation. The remaining four native vulnerabilities received CVSS v3.1 base scores between 6.0 and 7.2. In addition, 353 third-party component vulnerabilities were patched, covering 130 issues in the Linux kernel along with flaws in Apache Log4j, Apache Tomcat, Samba, PostgreSQL, OpenSSL, glibc, and Vim. Administrators are advised to upgrade to version 20.2.0.0 or later to mitigate the risks.
Phantomdrive Open-Source USB Drive Conceals Encrypted Storage to Resist Coercion
Developer Ryan Walker has released Phantomdrive, a fully open-source USB device that initially appears as an 8 GB drive while hiding the remaining capacity from the operating system. The gadget uses a CH569 microcontroller with hardware AES support and an SD card for storage, switching to a hidden encrypted partition when a specific password string is written to a text file. It employs a key derivation function with 100,000 rounds of SHA-256 combined with a unique device salt derived from the USB serial number to strengthen password security. The project supports AES-CTR mode by default for performance reasons, delivering up to 20 MB/s reads, while AES-XTS is available as a slower but more robust alternative. All firmware, hardware schematics, and mechanical designs are published under open licenses, and the device is physically secured with epoxy resin to deter tampering. Walker acknowledges earlier community criticism regarding cryptographic implementation details and has addressed functional testing against OpenSSL references.
OpenSSL Patches HollowByte Vulnerability That Enables Denial-of-Service Attacks on TLS Connections with Just 11 Bytes
OpenSSL has released fixes for a vulnerability dubbed HollowByte that allows denial-of-service attacks against servers using unpatched versions of the library. The flaw can be triggered by a malicious TLS request as small as 11 bytes and was addressed without a CVE or formal security advisory because it was classified as a hardening improvement. Researchers from Okta warn that the operational impact can be significant on internet-facing servers, as the issue occurs during the initial TLS handshake when vulnerable OpenSSL versions reserve memory based on the client-declared size before verifying actual data delivery. Attackers can open connections, claim they will send a large message, and then deliver only a tiny portion, leaving the server waiting indefinitely with reserved memory. In tests with NGINX, low-memory servers could be completely taken down while more powerful machines suffered substantial capacity loss without triggering abnormal traffic volumes. The patches are included in OpenSSL versions 4.0.1, 3.6.3, 3.5.7, 3.4.6, and 3.0.21, and administrators are advised to update packages, restart affected services, and monitor for unusual memory growth.