Is CVE-2026-53762 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-53762 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2026-53762?

Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.2, published 21 August 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

VeraCrypt VeraCrypt prior to 1.26.29 (only non-default builds with WOLFCRYPT=1 and WOLFCRYPT_BACKEND).

Is there a fix for CVE-2026-53762?

A patch was published on 2026-06-09: Version 1.26.29 released with fix Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2026-53762 attacked?

It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

Am I affected by CVE-2026-53762?

Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2026-53762: VeraCrypt PBKDF2 key derivation bypass in WolfCrypt builds

CVE-2026-53762 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.2 · Published 2026-08-21

VeraCrypt is a disk encryption tool that protects sensitive data by deriving encryption keys from passwords using computationally expensive functions. Non-default builds compiled with WolfCrypt routing incorrectly bypassed password iteration settings, allowing attackers to perform offline password guesses far faster than intended. Volumes encrypted with affected builds can be cracked in substantially less time, compromising the confidentiality of all encrypted data.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-53762 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-53762 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-53762?: Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.2, published 21 August 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: VeraCrypt VeraCrypt prior to 1.26.29 (only non-default builds with WOLFCRYPT=1 and WOLFCRYPT_BACKEND).
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-53762?: A patch was published on 2026-06-09: Version 1.26.29 released with fix Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-53762 attacked?: It is attacked with local access, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-53762?: Check whether anything you run is named in the advisory. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

The vulnerability affects non-default VeraCrypt builds created with WOLFCRYPT=1 and WOLFCRYPT_BACKEND options. The issue is a logic error in src/Crypto/wolfCrypt.c where SHA-256 and SHA-512 volume-header key derivation functions discard the configured iteration count and use wolfSSL's HKDF (HMAC-based Key Derivation Function) instead of the intended PBKDF2-HMAC algorithm. This means that changing the PIM (Personal Iteration Multiplier) or iteration count provides no increase in key derivation cost. An attacker with access to an affected container or volume header can perform offline password attacks with reduced computational burden. Official precompiled VeraCrypt binaries and standard distribution packages use the correct PBKDF2 backend and are unaffected. The fix is available in version 1.26.29.

Affected products

VeraCrypt VeraCrypt prior to 1.26.29 (only non-default builds with WOLFCRYPT=1 and WOLFCRYPT_BACKEND)

Timeline

2026-08-21: disclosed
2026-06-09: patched: Version 1.26.29 released with fix

References

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