LibreSSL 4.4.0, the first stable release of the 4.4.x series, was launched on October 22, 2026. This version is included with OpenBSD 8.0 and focuses on security patches, performance optimizations, and platform compatibility.
A key security update involves removing the emSign ECC Root CA - G3 certificate from the default trust store. This change addresses concerns regarding insufficient key strength in the associated sub-certificate authority chain.
Performance improvements include optimized SHA-3 algorithm execution using loop unrolling and interleaving. Additionally, the library now uses X25519MLKEM768 as the preferred key exchange group for TLS 1.3 in libtls to support post-quantum security.
The update addresses multiple vulnerabilities in TLS, DTLS, and X.509 certificate handling, including memory safety issues like buffer overflows and null pointer dereferences. Developers are advised to manually verify local configuration files during the upgrade.
Platform support has been expanded and refined. This includes new build support for macOS 27.0, fixes for MSVC compiler issues on Windows, and improved assembly support for AArch64, RISC-V, and MIPS architectures.
