Kyber Reference implementation up to 18.x ML-KEM 512 Secret Key ref/poly.c poly_frommsg information exposure

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Kyber Reference implementation up to 18.x. The affected element is the function poly_frommsg of the file ref/poly.c of the component ML-KEM 512 Secret Key Handler. This manipulation causes information exposure. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2024-37880. No exploit is available. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Kyber Reference implementation up to 18.x. Affected by this vulnerability is the function poly_frommsg of the file ref/poly.c of the component ML-KEM 512 Secret Key Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a information exposure vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-203. The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor, which exposes security-relevant information about the state of the product, such as whether a particular operation was successful or not. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

The Kyber reference implementation before 9b8d306, when compiled by LLVM Clang through 18.x with some common optimization options, has a timing side channel that allows attackers to recover an ML-KEM 512 secret key in minutes. This occurs because poly_frommsg in poly.c does not prevent Clang from emitting a vulnerable secret-dependent branch.

The advisory is shared at pqshield.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2024-37880 since 06/10/2024. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1592 for this issue.

Applying the patch 9b8d30698a3e7449aeb34e62339d4176f11e3c6c is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com.

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

Productinfo

Name

• Kyber Reference implementation

Version

• 18.x

License

• open-source

CPE 2.3info

• 🔍
• 🔍

CPE 2.2info

• 🔍
• 🔍

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

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