CVE-2025-27508 in Emissary
Summary
by MITRE • 03/06/2025
Emissary is a P2P based data-driven workflow engine. The ChecksumCalculator class within allows for hashing and checksum generation, but it includes or defaults to algorithms that are no longer recommended for secure cryptographic use cases (e.g., SHA-1, CRC32, and SSDEEP). These algorithms, while possibly valid for certain non-security-critical tasks, can expose users to security risks if used in scenarios where strong cryptographic guarantees are required. This issue is fixed in 8.24.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/06/2025
The Emissary workflow engine presents a significant cryptographic vulnerability through its ChecksumCalculator class implementation that exposes users to potential security risks via the use of deprecated hashing algorithms. This vulnerability affects version 8.23.0 and earlier releases where the system defaults to cryptographic functions that have been widely discouraged for security-sensitive applications. The affected algorithms include SHA-1, CRC32, and SSDEEP, each representing different categories of cryptographic weakness that can compromise system integrity and data security. SHA-1 specifically has been deprecated since 2005 due to its vulnerability to collision attacks, making it unsuitable for any security-critical applications. The presence of these weak algorithms in a data-driven workflow engine creates a substantial risk vector for attackers seeking to manipulate or forge data integrity checks.
The technical flaw manifests in the ChecksumCalculator class where the system either defaults to or explicitly allows the use of these deprecated cryptographic functions without proper security context awareness. This design decision violates fundamental security principles by providing weak cryptographic primitives in a system that processes sensitive data through peer-to-peer workflows. The vulnerability creates opportunities for attackers to exploit collision weaknesses in SHA-1 to generate identical hash values for different inputs, potentially enabling data tampering, man-in-the-middle attacks, or bypassing integrity verification mechanisms. CRC32, while not cryptographically secure, can still be exploited in certain scenarios where predictable hash values might be leveraged for injection attacks or to bypass validation checks. SSDEEP, though designed for file similarity detection, lacks the cryptographic strength required for security-critical applications and can be manipulated to produce false positives in integrity verification systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns to encompass potential system compromise and data manipulation risks within the Emissary workflow environment. Attackers could exploit these weak algorithms to create malicious workflows that appear legitimate, bypass security controls, or manipulate data flows through forged checksums that pass validation checks. The vulnerability affects the entire P2P data workflow processing chain, potentially allowing unauthorized modification of data at any point in the distributed system. This risk is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where workflow integrity is crucial for compliance, audit trails, and security monitoring. The vulnerability also impacts the system's ability to provide strong cryptographic guarantees that are essential for maintaining trust in distributed data processing environments.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability require immediate deployment of version 8.24.0 or later, which addresses the cryptographic weakness by removing or deprecating the use of SHA-1, CRC32, and SSDEEP algorithms in favor of stronger cryptographic functions. Organizations should conduct comprehensive audits of their Emissary deployments to identify systems still running vulnerable versions and implement immediate patching procedures. The fix aligns with industry standards including CWE-327, which addresses the use of weak cryptographic algorithms, and supports ATT&CK techniques related to credential access and defense evasion. Additionally, system administrators should implement monitoring for any attempts to use deprecated algorithms in workflow definitions and establish security policies that mandate the use of cryptographically secure hashing functions for integrity verification. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the critical importance of cryptographic algorithm selection in distributed systems and the need for continuous security assessment of all cryptographic components within software applications.