CVE-2026-16317
Published:July 21, 2026
Updated:August 06, 2026
Missing validation of the outer content_type byte on TLS 1.3 encrypted records in s2n-tls allows an active man-in-the-middle to silently discard individual application data records without either endpoint detecting the modification. RFC 8446 Section 5.2 requires that the outer content_type of all encrypted TLS 1.3 records must be application_data (0x17). The s2n-tls AEAD implementation hardcodes this value in the additional authenticated data rather than using the actual wire byte, so the outer content_type is not covered by the authentication tag.
This enables selective suppression of application data. In HTTP pipelining scenarios, dropping a TLS record containing an HTTP request can cause request/response desynchronization, where subsequent responses are delivered to the wrong requests. In write-heavy workloads, a dropped record containing a write request can result in undetectable data loss when the client interprets a subsequent success response as confirmation of the dropped write.
All TLS 1.3 connections are affected. Both TLS clients and servers are affected. TLS 1.2 and QUIC connections are not affected.
We recommend you upgrade s2n-tls to version v1.7.6
Affected Packages
https://github.com/aws/s2n-tls.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=v0.9.0 <v1.7.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version v1.7.6Related Resources (5)
Do you need more information?
Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
8.3
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
PRESENT
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
NONE
Vulnerable System Integrity
HIGH
Vulnerable System Availability
LOW
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
LOW
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
6.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
HIGH
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
LOW
Weakness Type (CWE)
Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value
EPSS
Base Score:
0.19