CVE-2004-2681 in MatrixSSL
Summary
by MITRE
PeerSec MatrixSSL before 1.1 caches session keys for an indefinitely long time, which might make it easier for remote attackers to hijack a session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/30/2018
The vulnerability described in CVE-2004-2681 affects PeerSec MatrixSSL versions prior to 1.1, specifically addressing a critical flaw in session key management that undermines the security of encrypted communications. This issue stems from the implementation of session caching mechanisms that store session keys without any time-based expiration or limitation on their retention period. The flaw allows attackers to potentially exploit cached session information indefinitely, creating persistent opportunities for session hijacking attacks.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses information exposure, and CWE-310, which covers cryptographic issues. The root cause lies in the absence of proper session key lifecycle management within the SSL/TLS implementation. When session keys are cached indefinitely, they remain accessible to attackers who may have intercepted them during previous connections. This creates a window of opportunity for man-in-the-middle attacks, session replay attacks, or direct session hijacking where malicious actors can reuse cached session identifiers to impersonate legitimate users.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on PeerSec MatrixSSL for secure communications. The indefinite caching of session keys means that even if security policies change or if session keys should theoretically expire, the system continues to maintain these cached values indefinitely. This behavior particularly affects web applications, secure email systems, and any network services that depend on SSL/TLS session resumption for performance optimization. The impact extends beyond immediate session compromise to potentially enable long-term surveillance or unauthorized access to sensitive information.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is substantial, as it can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring privileged access or complex exploitation techniques. Attackers need only intercept session information during legitimate communications and then leverage the cached session keys at a later time when the session is still valid in the cache. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where network traffic is monitored or where attackers can perform passive reconnaissance to gather session information. The vulnerability also violates fundamental security principles outlined in the NIST SP 800-57 standard for cryptographic key management, which requires proper key lifecycle management including appropriate expiration intervals.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including upgrading to PeerSec MatrixSSL version 1.1 or later, which addresses the indefinite caching issue through proper session key expiration mechanisms. Additionally, administrators should configure session timeout values and implement session monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and intrusion detection systems can help identify unusual session behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation of this vulnerability. The fix aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential harvesting through session hijacking, and represents a critical security improvement that addresses the fundamental flaw in session management architecture.