CVE-2024-23688 in Discovery
Summary
by MITRE • 01/20/2024
Consensys Discovery versions less than 0.4.5 uses the same AES/GCM nonce for the entire session. which should ideally be unique for every message. The node's private key isn't compromised, only the session key generated for specific peer communication is exposed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-23688 affects Consensys Discovery versions prior to 0.4.5 and represents a critical cryptographic weakness in the peer-to-peer communication protocol implementation. This issue stems from the improper use of the Advanced Encryption Standard with Galois/Counter Mode (AES/GCM) encryption algorithm where the same nonce value is reused throughout an entire session rather than generating unique nonces for each encrypted message. The flaw occurs at the cryptographic protocol level and directly impacts the security guarantees provided by the encryption mechanism, creating a scenario where the confidentiality of communications can be compromised despite the private key remaining secure.
The technical implementation error manifests in the cryptographic protocol design where session keys are generated for peer-to-peer communications but the nonce reuse pattern violates fundamental cryptographic principles. In AES/GCM encryption, the nonce must be unique for each message encrypted with the same key to maintain security properties including confidentiality and authenticity. When the same nonce is used repeatedly, it creates predictable patterns that allow attackers to perform statistical analysis and potentially recover plaintext information from encrypted communications. This vulnerability specifically affects the session key generation process where the system fails to properly randomize nonce values across messages within a single communication session, creating a vector for cryptographic attacks that leverage nonce repetition.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple confidentiality breaches as it undermines the integrity of peer-to-peer communications within the Consensys Discovery network. Attackers who can observe network traffic can exploit the nonce reuse pattern to potentially decrypt messages, forge communications, or perform man-in-the-middle attacks against peer nodes. The vulnerability does not compromise the underlying private keys used for authentication or identity verification, but rather exposes the session keys used for encrypting actual data exchanges between nodes. This creates a scenario where network-level adversaries can gain access to sensitive information exchanged between peers while maintaining the appearance of legitimate network operations, potentially leading to data leakage, service disruption, or further exploitation of the compromised communication channels.
Organizations and developers using Consensys Discovery software should immediately upgrade to version 0.4.5 or later to address this vulnerability, as the fix involves implementing proper nonce generation mechanisms that ensure unique values are used for each encrypted message within a session. The mitigation strategy requires cryptographic protocol updates that align with industry best practices for AES/GCM implementation, specifically ensuring that nonce values are properly randomized and unique for each message. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-327, which addresses the use of weak cryptographic algorithms and improper implementation of cryptographic protocols, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1566 related to credential access through network protocols. The fix should include comprehensive testing of the cryptographic implementation to verify proper nonce generation and session key management, ensuring that the updated system maintains the security properties required for secure peer-to-peer communications in distributed network environments.