CryptoLib’s cryptography_encrypt function parses JSON metadata received from a KMC server. A flawed iteration using ptr + strlen(ptr) + 1 reads one byte past the buffer boundary for short or malformed strings, leading to an out‑of‑bounds heap read. This vulnerability is identified as CWE‑125 and carries a CVSS score of 8.2. The primary consequence is the potential exposure of sensitive data and possible software instability.

The affected product is NASA’s CryptoLib, which implements the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol for spacecraft and ground station communication. All releases prior to v1.4.3 are impacted. The patch was released in version 1.4.3 and is available via the official GitHub releases page.

The EPSS score is below 1%, indicating a low probability of exploitation. CryptoLib is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and no public exploits are currently known. Successful exploitation would require the attacker to control or influence the KMC server’s response to craft short or malformed metadata, enabling them to trigger the out‑of‑bounds read and potentially leak memory contents or cause a crash.