CVE-2014-3570 in MacOS X
Summary
by MITRE
The BN_sqr implementation in OpenSSL before 0.9.8zd, 1.0.0 before 1.0.0p, and 1.0.1 before 1.0.1k does not properly calculate the square of a BIGNUM value, which might make it easier for remote attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms via unspecified vectors, related to crypto/bn/asm/mips.pl, crypto/bn/asm/x86_64-gcc.c, and crypto/bn/bn_asm.c.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/22/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-3570 represents a critical flaw in OpenSSL's BIGNUM square implementation that affects multiple versions of the cryptographic library. This issue resides in the mathematical operations performed during BIGNUM squaring calculations, which are fundamental to cryptographic algorithms including RSA and DSA. The vulnerability specifically impacts the BN_sqr function within OpenSSL's big number arithmetic library, where improper calculation of BIGNUM squares creates potential cryptographic weaknesses that could be exploited by remote attackers.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from incorrect handling of BIGNUM squaring operations in the assembly code implementations for different processor architectures. The affected files include crypto/bn/asm/mips.pl, crypto/bn/asm/x86_64-gcc.c, and crypto/bn/bn_asm.c which contain the optimized assembly routines for performing BIGNUM arithmetic operations. These assembly implementations fail to properly account for carry propagation and bit manipulation during the squaring process, leading to incorrect mathematical results that could compromise cryptographic security. The flaw manifests when OpenSSL performs cryptographic operations that require BIGNUM squaring, potentially causing the cryptographic algorithms to produce incorrect outputs that weaken security guarantees.
The operational impact of CVE-2014-3570 extends beyond simple mathematical errors to potentially enable sophisticated attacks against cryptographic systems. Attackers could exploit this vulnerability to perform partial key recovery attacks, weaken RSA encryption, or compromise DSA signature verification processes. The unspecified vectors mentioned in the description suggest that the vulnerability could be leveraged through various attack scenarios including man-in-the-middle attacks, certificate forgery, or cryptographic key compromise. According to CWE classification, this represents a weakness in the implementation of cryptographic operations, specifically CWE-682 Incorrect Calculation, which falls under the broader category of cryptographic failures that can lead to complete system compromise when exploited properly.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and defense evasion. An attacker could potentially use this weakness to bypass cryptographic protections that are supposed to prevent unauthorized access to encrypted communications, digital signatures, or secure authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability particularly affects systems that rely heavily on OpenSSL for TLS/SSL connections, SSH implementations, and any cryptographic services that depend on BIGNUM arithmetic. Organizations using vulnerable OpenSSL versions are at risk of having their encrypted communications weakened or potentially compromised, making this issue particularly dangerous for secure web services, email systems, and any infrastructure requiring strong cryptographic guarantees.
The recommended mitigations for CVE-2014-3570 involve immediate patching of OpenSSL installations to versions that contain corrected BIGNUM square implementations. System administrators should upgrade to OpenSSL 0.9.8zd, 1.0.0p, or 1.0.1k depending on their current version, as these releases contain the fixed assembly routines that properly handle BIGNUM squaring operations. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running vulnerable OpenSSL versions and ensure that proper cryptographic protocols are in place to detect potential exploitation attempts. Regular security monitoring and patch management procedures should be implemented to prevent similar vulnerabilities from affecting cryptographic infrastructure in the future.