CVE-2024-1545 in wolfSSL
Summary
by MITRE • 08/30/2024
Fault Injection vulnerability in RsaPrivateDecryption function in wolfssl/wolfcrypt/src/rsa.c in WolfSSL wolfssl5.6.6 on Linux/Windows allows remote attacker co-resides in the same system with a victim process to disclose information and escalate privileges via Rowhammer fault injection to the RsaKey structure.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/28/2026
This vulnerability resides within the WolfSSL cryptographic library version 5.6.6 and specifically targets the RsaPrivateDecryption function located in wolfcrypt/src/rsa.c. The flaw represents a fault injection vulnerability that enables a remote attacker who shares the same system with a victim process to exploit Rowhammer-based techniques for information disclosure and privilege escalation. The vulnerability stems from insufficient protection mechanisms within the RSA key structure processing, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can manipulate memory contents through controlled hardware-level faults. This represents a sophisticated side-channel attack vector that leverages the physical properties of memory systems to induce bit flips in critical cryptographic data structures, particularly affecting the RsaKey structure that holds sensitive private key information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability exploits the Rowhammer attack methodology, which involves repeatedly accessing specific memory addresses to induce bit flips in adjacent memory locations through repeated memory accesses. When the RSA private decryption function processes cryptographic operations, it relies on the integrity of the RsaKey structure containing private key components. The fault injection occurs during memory operations where the attacker can manipulate the memory state to corrupt the RSA key data, potentially leading to private key exposure or privilege escalation. This attack requires the adversary to have co-resident access to the victim process, leveraging shared memory spaces and system resources to execute the fault injection attacks. The vulnerability manifests through the manipulation of memory locations containing critical cryptographic parameters, which are then processed by the RSA decryption function without adequate error detection or recovery mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to include potential privilege escalation within the system. An attacker who successfully injects faults into the RSA key structure can potentially extract private key material, compromising the entire cryptographic security infrastructure that relies on RSA encryption. The Rowhammer-based approach allows for precise memory manipulation at the hardware level, making this attack particularly dangerous as it operates below the traditional software security boundaries. The vulnerability affects both Linux and Windows operating systems, indicating a widespread impact across different platform architectures. The attack vector requires minimal privileges to execute once the attacker has co-resident access to the target process, making it particularly concerning for multi-tenant environments where different processes share the same physical hardware resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require both hardware-level and software-level interventions to address the underlying Rowhammer attack mechanisms. System administrators should implement memory error correction and monitoring systems to detect and prevent bit flip attacks, while also considering hardware-level protections such as memory scrubbing and error-correcting codes. Software mitigations include enhanced error detection within cryptographic functions, additional validation checks for RSA key structures, and implementation of fault detection mechanisms in the wolfssl library itself. Organizations should also consider implementing process isolation and memory protection schemes to prevent co-resident attackers from accessing target processes. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129 and CWE-131 categories related to improper input validation and buffer overflow conditions, while the attack methodology corresponds to ATT&CK techniques involving privilege escalation through memory corruption and hardware-based attacks. Regular updates to the wolfssl library and implementation of comprehensive security monitoring should be prioritized to address this vulnerability effectively.