OpenSSL mystery patches due for release Thursday

An advisory published on Monday did not give further details of the vulnerabilities, presumably so as to not tip off hackers and perhaps to give some organizations time to patch in the meantime.

The updates will be included in OpenSSL versions 1.0.2a, 1.0.1m, 1.0.0r and 0.9.8zf, the advisory said.

A number of serious problems have been found over the last year in OpenSSL, which is widely used open-source software that encrypts communications using the SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) protocol, a cornerstone of Web security.

OpenSSL has been undergoing a security audit since the Heartbleed flaw was found in April 2014, a serious vulnerability that leaked memory from a server, potentially exposing login credentials, cryptographic keys and other private data.

The software was also affected by FREAK, a flaw revealed earlier this month that can allow an attacker to initiate a weaker type of encrypted connection that can be compromised more easily.

OpenSSL's issues have drawn attention to security issues in other critical open-source software projects, which have often suffered from neglect and been maintained by a handful of underpaid developers or volunteers for free.

As a result, major vendors are funding the Core Infrastructure Initiative, a US$2 million-a-year project dedicated to supporting and auditing open-source projects.

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