How broadly exploitable is this vulnerability?

Exploitability depends on whether your application uses node-forge's RSASSA PKCS#1 v1.5 verification with low-exponent RSA keys and treats a successful verification as a high-trust event (such as authenticating a server, user, or configuration). Where those conditions hold, an attacker who can supply arbitrary signatures or signed artifacts may be able to forge signatures.

Does an attacker need authenticated access or local privileges to exploit this?

Not necessarily. The primary requirement is the ability to present or control data that your service verifies with node-forge—this could be over a network (e.g., client-supplied tokens, certificates, or signed messages) or via any input channel where signatures are checked. No local system privileges are inherently required, only the capability to feed crafted signatures into the verification path.

What is the safest general fix pattern?

The safest pattern is to rely on a strict, specification-compliant verification implementation that enforces correct PKCS#1 v1.5 formatting, including full padding and ASN.1 checks, and to migrate security-critical paths toward modern, robust signature schemes where feasible. Additionally, avoid custom relaxations or overrides of library verification logic and ensure key parameters follow current best practices.

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

Improper RSASSA-PKCS1 v1.5 Signature Verification (CWE-347) in node-forge TLS Library

CVE-2026-33894

Published:

Mar 27, 2026

Status:

Analyzed

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

NDV

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Vulnerability Type

Category:

Improper Cryptographic Signature Verification

CWE:

CWE-20;CWE-347

Impact:

Signature Forgery and Authentication Bypass

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

Vulnerability Type

Category:

Improper Cryptographic Signature Verification

CWE:

CWE-20;CWE-347

Impact:

Signature Forgery and Authentication Bypass

Severity:

HIGH RISK

(7.5)

CVSS Version:

3.1

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Improper RSASSA-PKCS1 v1.5 Signature Verification (CWE-347) in node-forge TLS Library

Summary

Affected Context

Exploit Preconditions

Why This Happens

Potential Impact

General Mitigation Guidance

How Teams Detect Issues Like This

Frequently Asked Questions

Source

Recent Vulnerabilities

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

PHP Code Injection via File Upload (CWE-94) in Aero CMS Admin Post Creation

HIGH RISK

HIGH

(8.8)

Code Injection (CWE-94) via Module Parameters in Evolution CMS

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Vulnerability Type

Catch This CVE While Code Is Being Written

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

Ship clean & secure code faster

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