EVP_EncodeUpdate overflow

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

not scored

EPSS

• CVE-2016-2105: 39.65% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 98.62 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

An overflow can occur in the OpenSSL EVP_EncodeUpdate() function which is used for Base64 encoding of binary data. An attacker must be able to supply large amounts of input data in order to cause an overflow. Node.js uses the EVP_EncodeUpdate() internally during calls to crypto.Certificate#exportPublicKey() for SPKAC Certificate Signing Requests. User-supplied data must be passed to this method for applications to be vulnerable. This method has been available since Node.js v0.12.

Published by the source

5 May 2016, 00:00 UTC

Last modified by the source

5 May 2016, 00:00 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:35 UTC

1. Revision 2 · published · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from vendor_advisory record nodejs-security-wg:core:23

2. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Created from vendor_advisory record nodejs-security-wg:core:23

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2016-2105

Advisory: EVP_EncodeUpdate overflow
IDs: CVE-2016-2105
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2016-2105 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:35 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Unrated
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: node 6.1.0, 5.11.1, 4.4.4. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- runtime node: affected >= 4.0.0, < 4.4.4; >= 5.0.0, < 5.11.1; >= 6.0.0, < 6.1.0; fixed in 4.4.4, 6.1.0, 5.11.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- runtime node: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on node.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://nodejs.org/dist/index.json (The nodejs.org release index dates the first patched release for CVE-2016-2105 to 2016-05-05.)
- Verified: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nodejs/security-wg/main/vuln/core/23.json (Node.js security working group core entry 23 lists CVE-2016-2105 affecting node >=4.0.0 =5.0.0 =6.0.0 <6.1.0)

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