WolfSSL Sucks Too, So Now What?
Hacker News
February 13, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
WolfSSL has come under fire for its handling of TLS 1.3, particularly regarding middlebox compatibility. The library's developers have implemented a rigid compatibility mode for middleboxes through a compile-time flag, which forces all clients to use this feature regardless of the RFC requirements. This approach effectively strips users of control over how TLS 1.3 interacts with legacy network devices, potentially compromising security and performance. While middleboxes are known to cause issues by tampering with traffic, TLS 1.3's design should allow optional compatibility modes that adhere to RFC standards. WolfSSL's refusal to comply with these guidelines leaves its users at a disadvantage, especially since the library is widely used in embedded systems where such flaws can have significant consequences.
The broader context of SSL/TLS libraries highlights ongoing challenges. OpenSSL, BoringSSL, and AWS-LC are criticized for prioritizing their own use cases over broader compatibility and security needs. LibreSSL remains incomplete, leaving a gap in the market for reliable, RFC-compliant solutions. The author's experience with WolfSSL began after encountering issues with OpenSSL and other libraries, leading them to explore alternatives like Haproxy built against WolfSSL on FreeBSD. While this experiment exposed WolfSSL
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Originally published on Hacker News on 2/13/2026