CVE-2018-20999 in orion Crate
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in the orion crate before 0.11.2 for Rust. reset() calls cause incorrect results.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/04/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-20999 affects the orion crate version 0.11.1 and earlier in the Rust programming language ecosystem. This security flaw resides within the cryptographic library implementation that handles various cryptographic operations including key management and reset functionality. The orion crate serves as a comprehensive cryptographic library designed to provide secure implementations of common cryptographic primitives while maintaining usability for Rust developers. The issue specifically manifests when the reset() function is invoked within the crate's cryptographic operations, leading to incorrect results that can compromise the integrity of cryptographic processes.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from improper handling of state reset operations within the cryptographic implementations. When the reset() method is called, it fails to properly clear or reinitialize internal cryptographic states, resulting in residual data or incorrect state transitions that affect subsequent cryptographic operations. This flaw can be categorized under CWE-252, which represents an "Unchecked Return Value" or more specifically, improper state management in cryptographic libraries. The reset functionality is typically used to clear sensitive data from memory or to prepare cryptographic contexts for reuse, but in this case, the implementation fails to achieve proper state cleanup, potentially leaving cryptographic operations in inconsistent states.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-20999 extends beyond simple incorrect results to potentially compromise the security of cryptographic operations that depend on proper state management. Applications using the affected orion crate version may experience corrupted cryptographic outputs, failed authentication mechanisms, or weakened security guarantees where reset operations are expected to clear sensitive information completely. This vulnerability particularly affects systems that rely heavily on cryptographic state management and may be exploited by attackers who can influence the timing or sequence of cryptographic operations. The flaw can be leveraged as part of broader attack vectors in environments where cryptographic libraries are used for sensitive operations such as secure communications, digital signatures, or key derivation processes.
Security practitioners should prioritize updating affected systems to orion crate version 0.11.2 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the improper reset() function behavior. The fix typically involves implementing proper state cleanup mechanisms within the reset() method to ensure complete clearing of cryptographic contexts before reinitialization. Organizations should conduct thorough testing of cryptographic operations after applying the update to verify that the reset functionality operates correctly and that no regressions have been introduced. Additionally, monitoring for any anomalous cryptographic behavior or incorrect results in systems using the orion crate is recommended, as this vulnerability may not always produce immediately obvious failures but could lead to subtle security weaknesses over time.
From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001, which covers "Unsecured Credentials" through improper handling of cryptographic state, and may also relate to T1059.001 for potential command execution through manipulated cryptographic operations. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper state management in cryptographic libraries and highlights the need for thorough testing of reset and cleanup functions in security-critical code. Organizations should also consider implementing automated monitoring for cryptographic library behavior and establish processes for rapid patch deployment when similar vulnerabilities are discovered in other cryptographic dependencies. The incident underscores the broader security principle that even seemingly minor functions like reset operations can have significant impacts on overall system security when not properly implemented.