CVE-2022-48506 in ImageCast Precinct (DVSorder)
Summary
by MITRE • 06/19/2023
A flawed pseudorandom number generator in Dominion Voting Systems ImageCast Precinct (ICP and ICP2) and ImageCast Evolution (ICE) scanners allows anyone to determine the order in which ballots were cast from public ballot-level data, allowing deanonymization of voted ballots, in several types of scenarios. This issue was observed for use of the following versions of Democracy Suite: 5.2, 5.4-NM, 5.5, 5.5-A, 5.5-B, 5.5-C, 5.5-D, 5.7-A, 5.10, 5.10A, 5.15. NOTE: the Democracy Suite 5.17 EAC Certificate of Conformance mentions "Improved pseudo random number algorithm," which may be relevant.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/15/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2022-48506 represents a critical weakness in the pseudorandom number generation implementation within Dominion Voting Systems' ImageCast voting equipment, specifically affecting the ICP, ICP2, and ICE models. This flaw fundamentally undermines the cryptographic security assumptions that should protect voter privacy and ballot integrity in electronic voting systems. The issue stems from a predictable pseudorandom number generator that fails to provide the necessary entropy and unpredictability required for secure cryptographic operations, creating a significant attack surface that can be exploited by adversaries with access to public ballot-level data.
The technical flaw manifests through the use of a flawed pseudorandom number generator that produces sequences with detectable patterns and statistical biases. This weakness allows attackers to reconstruct the temporal ordering of ballot casting based on publicly available ballot data, effectively breaking the anonymity guarantees that should protect individual voting choices. The vulnerability operates at the core of the system's cryptographic implementation, where proper random number generation is essential for maintaining ballot integrity and preventing correlation attacks that could link specific votes to individual voters. This issue directly relates to CWE-330, which addresses insufficient entropy in cryptographic systems, and represents a fundamental failure in the implementation of cryptographic primitives required for secure voting systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privacy concerns to encompass serious threats to democratic processes and electoral integrity. When adversaries can determine the order in which ballots were cast, they gain the ability to potentially correlate voting patterns with demographic data, voter registration information, or other external datasets, thereby enabling deanonymization of individual voting choices. This capability undermines the fundamental principle of secret ballot and can be exploited for targeted intimidation, coercion, or influence operations. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of the Democracy Suite, indicating a systemic issue that persisted across several releases, suggesting either poor code maintenance or inadequate security review processes. The fact that version 5.17 mentions "Improved pseudo random number algorithm" suggests that the vendor recognized this weakness and implemented corrections, but the affected versions remain in operational use and pose ongoing risks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate operational concerns and long-term systemic security improvements. Organizations should immediately implement comprehensive security audits of their voting equipment and consider replacing affected systems with versions that contain corrected cryptographic implementations. The remediation efforts should focus on replacing the flawed pseudorandom number generator with a cryptographically secure implementation that provides sufficient entropy and unpredictability. This vulnerability also highlights the need for adherence to established security standards such as NIST SP 800-90A for cryptographic random number generation and the importance of regular security assessments. From an operational security perspective, this issue aligns with ATT&CK technique T1588.002, which covers the use of compromised systems for data manipulation and the exploitation of weak cryptographic implementations. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper cryptographic implementation in voting systems and the potential consequences when such implementations fail to meet minimum security requirements for protecting democratic processes and voter privacy.