IBM Support

Security Bulletin:Netty Vulnerability: IndexOutOfBoundsException in SslClientHelloHandler Leading to Mutual TLS Bypass

Security Bulletin


Summary

Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.1.137.Fina and 4.2.17.Final, io.netty.handler.ssl.SslClientHelloHandler#decode checks the wrong offset before reading the four-byte TLS handshake header, so a ClientHello whose handshake header spans records can cause an IndexOutOfBoundsException and invoke select(ctx, null). This selects the default SslContext instead of the SNI-specific context. In deployments where per-SNI clientAuth=REQUIRE is the sole mutual TLS gate, the default SslContext uses clientAuth=NONE or clientAuth=OPTIONAL, and no application-layer certificate verification exists, an unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass the protected route's mutual TLS requirement. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.137.Final and 4.2.17.Final.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:   CVE-2026-75595
DESCRIPTION:   Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.1.137.Fina and 4.2.17.Final, io.netty.handler.ssl.SslClientHelloHandler#decode checks the wrong offset before reading the four-byte TLS handshake header, so a ClientHello whose handshake header spans records can cause an IndexOutOfBoundsException and invoke select(ctx, null). This selects the default SslContext instead of the SNI-specific context. In deployments where per-SNI clientAuth=REQUIRE is the sole mutual TLS gate, the default SslContext uses clientAuth=NONE or clientAuth=OPTIONAL, and no application-layer certificate verification exists, an unauthenticated remote attacker can bypass the protected route's mutual TLS requirement. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.137.Final and 4.2.17.Final.
CWE:   CWE-754: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   9.1
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N)

CVEID:   CVE-2026-75596
DESCRIPTION:   Netty is an asynchronous, event-driven network application framework. Prior to 4.1.137.Final and 4.2.17.Final, the default io.netty.handler.ssl.SniHandler constructors use the pre-handshake ClientHello aggregation path in handler/src/main/java/io/netty/handler/ssl/SslClientHelloHandler.java at io.netty.handler.ssl.SslClientHelloHandler#decode, where handshakeBuffer.clear() and writeBytes() recopy all previously received body bytes for every additional TLS record. An unauthenticated remote peer can advertise a large ClientHello and deliver its body in thousands of tiny records, causing quadratic CPU work on the event loop before the TLS handshake completes and degrading TLS handling for other clients. This issue is fixed in versions 4.1.137.Final and 4.2.17.Final.
CWE:   CWE-407: Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity
CVSS Source:   NVD
CVSS Base score:   7.5
CVSS Vector:   (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

Affected Product(s)Version(s)
PowerVC2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3

Remediation/Fixes

IBM strongly recommends addressing the vulnerability now.

 

PowerVC Version | Remediation

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.3.1 | Please update to PowerVC 2.3.2 or 2.3.3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.3.2 | https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/swg/downloadFixes?parent=ibm%7EOther%20software&product=ibm/Other+software/PowerVC&release=2.3.2&platform=All&function=fixId&fixids=2.3.2-PowerVC-RHEL-SLES-NOARCH-APAR-IT49755&includeRequisites=0&includeSupersedes=0&downloadMethod=http

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.3.3 | https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/swg/downloadFixes?parent=ibm%7EOther%20software&product=ibm/Other+software/PowerVC&release=2.3.3&platform=All&function=fixId&fixids=2.3.3-PowerVC-RHEL-NOARCH-APAR-IT49775&includeRequisites=0&includeSupersedes=0&downloadMethod=http

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Workarounds and Mitigations

None

Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins

References

Off

Acknowledgement

Change History

06 Oct 2026: Initial Publication

*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.

Document Location

Worldwide

[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU070","label":"IBM Infrastructure"},"Product":{"code":"SS2MT9","label":"PowerVC"},"Component":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF043","label":"Red Hat"},{"code":"PF048","label":"SUSE"}],"Version":"2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB68","label":"Power HW"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
06 October 2026

Initial Publish date:
06 October 2026

UID

ibm17291398