CVE-2017-13093 in P1735
Summary
by MITRE
The P1735 IEEE standard describes flawed methods for encrypting electronic-design intellectual property (IP), as well as the management of access rights for such IP, including modification of encrypted IP cyphertext to insert hardware trojans. The methods are flawed and, in the most egregious cases, enable attack vectors that allow recovery of the entire underlying plaintext IP. Implementations of IEEE P1735 may be weak to cryptographic attacks that allow an attacker to obtain plaintext intellectual property without the key, among other impacts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/27/2024
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-13093 represents a critical flaw in the IEEE P1735 standard for protecting electronic design intellectual property, which operates at the intersection of cryptographic security and hardware design integrity. This standard was developed to address the growing need for protecting sensitive IP assets during the design and manufacturing processes of integrated circuits and electronic systems. The flaw lies in the cryptographic methods used to encrypt IP assets and manage access controls, creating fundamental weaknesses that can be exploited by malicious actors. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the core security mechanisms that are supposed to protect proprietary design information from unauthorized access, modification, and extraction.
The technical implementation of the IEEE P1735 standard contains multiple cryptographic weaknesses that enable sophisticated attacks against the encrypted IP data. These flaws manifest in the encryption algorithms and key management protocols, allowing attackers to perform what is known as a "plaintext recovery attack" where the original unencrypted IP data can be reconstructed without possessing the legitimate cryptographic keys. The vulnerability specifically enables what security researchers categorize as a "ciphertext manipulation" attack, where adversaries can modify the encrypted data in predictable ways to insert malicious hardware components or trojans without detection. This represents a fundamental failure in the cryptographic protocol design, creating what is classified as a CWE-310 weakness in cryptographic implementation. The attack vectors leverage weaknesses in the encryption scheme that allow for mathematical analysis and reverse engineering of the encrypted data, essentially breaking the confidentiality guarantees that the standard was designed to provide.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple cryptographic weakness, as it fundamentally undermines the security model that electronic design automation companies rely upon for protecting their intellectual property. Organizations implementing IEEE P1735 standards face significant risks including unauthorized extraction of proprietary designs, insertion of malicious hardware components, and complete compromise of their competitive advantages in the semiconductor industry. The vulnerability enables what security professionals classify as a "supply chain attack" through the hardware domain, where attackers can compromise the integrity of electronic designs at the manufacturing level. This creates a situation where even legitimate IP holders may unknowingly incorporate malicious components into their products, leading to potential security breaches in deployed systems. The impact is particularly severe in industries such as aerospace, defense, automotive, and telecommunications where hardware security is critical. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to multiple ATT&CK techniques including T1547.001 (Registry Run Keys/Startup Folder) and T1059.001 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) when considering the potential for post-compromise lateral movement through compromised design data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-13093 require a multi-layered approach that addresses both immediate security concerns and long-term architectural improvements. Organizations should implement immediate measures to audit and validate all implementations of the IEEE P1735 standard within their design ecosystems, particularly focusing on cryptographic libraries and key management systems. The most effective immediate mitigation involves transitioning to more robust cryptographic standards such as those defined in NIST SP 800-38A or FIPS 140-2 compliant implementations that have undergone extensive security review and testing. Security teams should also implement continuous monitoring of design data for unauthorized modifications and establish strict access controls around IP assets. From a process perspective, organizations should adopt formal verification techniques and independent security assessments of their IP protection mechanisms, ensuring that any cryptographic implementations meet the requirements of CWE-327 (Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm). Additionally, implementing hardware-based security measures such as trusted platform modules and secure enclaves can provide additional layers of protection against the types of attacks enabled by this vulnerability. The remediation process requires careful coordination between design teams, security professionals, and compliance officers to ensure that all affected systems are properly updated and validated according to industry best practices and regulatory requirements.