*Queue Back to the Future Music* Over more than a decade ago there was a major discovery in ASN.1 that contributed to arguably one of the worst vulnerabilities in a long time. Fast forward *Queue awful fast forward tape music* to 2016 and ASN.1 is here again. Please reference this link https://github.com/programa-stic/security-advisories/tree/master/ObjSys/CVE-2016-5080 for the major details as this unfolds regarding CVE-2016-5080.

So far, according to the CERT page [3] for vendors reporting in and so far our winners of the ASN.1 award seem to be Objective Systems and Qualcomm Incorporated are reporting impact from  CVE-2016-5080. Honeywell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are reporting “Not Affected”. Many other vendors are in an unknown state.

Wait Richard, what the h^&& is ASN.1? [4] ASN.1 is a standard that is jointly maintained and governed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). It is a syntax notation that makes up rules for encoding, transmitting, and decoding data [4]. Basically, it does A LOT of stuff and it is EVERYWHERE *a slightly panicked tone*.

Please review this CVE (CVE-2016-5080) and monitor it closely. We at the storm center will monitor this and update it as it unfolds.

[1] https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/protocols/snmp-potential-asn1-vulnerabilities-912

[2] https://github.com/programa-stic/security-advisories/tree/master/ObjSys/CVE-2016-5080

[3] http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/790839

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_Syntax_Notation_One