CVE-2019-3731 in RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition
Summary
by MITRE
RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition versions prior to 4.1.4 and RSA Micro Edition Suite versions prior to 4.4 are vulnerable to an Information Exposure Through Timing Discrepancy. A malicious remote user could potentially exploit this vulnerability to extract information leaving data at risk of exposure.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/29/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2019-3731 represents a critical timing side-channel attack vector within RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition and RSA Micro Edition Suite cryptographic libraries. This flaw stems from inconsistent execution times during cryptographic operations, particularly when processing cryptographic keys or performing encryption/decryption routines. The vulnerability manifests when the system's response time varies predictably based on the input data, creating measurable timing differences that can be exploited by attackers. Such timing discrepancies occur because the cryptographic implementations do not maintain constant execution times regardless of input values, violating fundamental security principles for cryptographic operations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the use of timing attacks that leverage microarchitectural characteristics of processor execution. When cryptographic operations are performed, the system's execution time becomes correlated with the secret data being processed, particularly in modular exponentiation and other mathematical operations common in public key cryptography. This timing variation can be measured through repeated observations of system response times, allowing attackers to infer information about the cryptographic keys or plaintext data. The vulnerability specifically affects implementations where the cryptographic algorithms do not employ constant-time execution patterns, making them susceptible to timing analysis attacks that can reveal sensitive information through statistical analysis of execution timing data.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to systems relying on these cryptographic libraries for secure communications, digital signatures, and key management operations. Attackers could potentially extract private keys, session tokens, or other sensitive cryptographic material by performing careful timing measurements across multiple requests. The exposure could lead to complete compromise of cryptographic security, allowing unauthorized access to protected data, impersonation of legitimate users, and breakdown of confidentiality assurances that these cryptographic systems are designed to provide. Organizations using affected versions may experience data breaches, compliance violations, and loss of trust from customers and partners who rely on the security assurances provided by these cryptographic implementations.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2019-3731 requires immediate deployment of patched versions of RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition 4.1.4 and RSA Micro Edition Suite 4.4, which implement constant-time cryptographic operations to eliminate timing discrepancies. System administrators should also consider implementing additional countermeasures such as randomizing execution timing, using hardware security modules that provide constant-time operations, and monitoring for unusual timing patterns that might indicate attempted timing attacks. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-203, which specifically addresses information exposure through timing discrepancies, and represents a significant concern for organizations following ATT&CK framework's T1005 and T1041 techniques related to data collection and remote access trojan capabilities. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments to identify all systems using vulnerable versions and implement comprehensive monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts, while ensuring that all cryptographic implementations follow established security standards for constant-time execution to prevent similar vulnerabilities from emerging in future deployments.