hostapd/wpa_supplicant up to 2.7 EAP-PWD risky encryption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in hostapd and wpa_supplicant up to 2.7. Affected is an unknown function of the component EAP-PWD. Performing a manipulation results in risky encryption. This vulnerability was named CVE-2019-9495. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, was found in hostapd and wpa_supplicant up to 2.7. This affects an unknown code of the component EAP-PWD. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a risky encryption vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-327. The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

The implementations of EAP-PWD in hostapd and wpa_supplicant are vulnerable to side-channel attacks as a result of cache access patterns. All versions of hostapd and wpa_supplicant with EAP-PWD support are vulnerable. The ability to install and execute applications is necessary for a successful attack. Memory access patterns are visible in a shared cache. Weak passwords may be cracked. Versions of hostapd/wpa_supplicant 2.7 and newer, are not vulnerable to the timing attack described in CVE-2019-9494. Both hostapd with EAP-pwd support and wpa_supplicant with EAP-pwd support prior to and including version 2.7 are affected.

The bug was discovered 04/10/2019. The weakness was presented 04/17/2019 by Joshua (Website). The advisory is shared at w1.fi. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2019-9495 since 03/01/2019. The exploitability is told to be difficult. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1600 for this issue.

The vulnerability was handled as a non-public zero-day exploit for at least 7 days. During that time the estimated underground price was around $0-$5k. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 197427 (Ubuntu Security Notification for wpa_supplicant and hostapd vulnerabilities (USN-3944-1)).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at SecurityFocus (BID 71796†). See VDB-73689, VDB-132130, VDB-133472 and VDB-133475 for similar entries. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Name

• hostapd
• wpa_supplicant

Version

• 2.0
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3
• 2.4
• 2.5
• 2.6
• 2.7

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍
• 🔍

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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