CVE-2026-53762 MEDIUM

CVE-2026-53762: VeraCryp: wolfCrypt backend bypasses VeraCrypt PBKDF2 iteration count (non-default WOLFCRYPT=1 builds)

Vendor Veracrypt
Product VeraCrypt
Weakness CWE-916
Published August 21, 2026
Last update August 26, 2026

CVSS base score

6.2/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality High
Integrity None

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

VeraCrypt provides disk encryption with strong security based on TrueCrypt. Prior to 1.26.29, non-default builds created with WOLFCRYPT=1 and WOLFCRYPT_BACKEND route SHA-256 and SHA-512 volume-header key derivation through derive_key_sha256 and derive_key_sha512 in src/Crypto/wolfCrypt.c, where the configured iterations value is discarded and wc_HKDF is used instead of PBKDF2-HMAC. Changing the PIM or iteration count therefore does not increase derivation cost, allowing an attacker with an affected container, disk image, or volume header to perform substantially cheaper offline password guesses. Official precompiled VeraCrypt binaries and normal distribution packages use the standard PBKDF2 backend and are not affected. Volumes created by an affected WOLFCRYPT=1 build require backup and recreation because corrected builds derive different keys. This issue is fixed in version 1.26.29.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

August 21, 2026 CVE published
August 26, 2026 Record updated