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Improper Certificate Validation

CVE-2020-36478

High
7.5/10

Summary

An issue was discovered in Mbed TLS before 2.25.0 (and before 2.16.9 LTS and before 2.7.18 LTS). A NULL algorithm parameters entry looks identical to an array of REAL (size zero) and thus the certificate is considered valid. However, if the parameters do not match in any way, then the certificate should be considered invalid.

  • LOW
  • NETWORK
  • HIGH
  • UNCHANGED
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • NONE
  • NONE

CWE-295 - Improper Certificate Validation

The authenticity component of a web system stems from the ability to validate “Digital certificates”, which (i) establish trust between two or more entities sharing data over a network; (ii) ensure data at rest and transit is secure from unauthorized access; and (iii) check the identity of the actors that interact with the system. An application with absent or ineffective certificate validation mechanisms allows malicious users, impersonating trusted hosts, to manipulate the communication path between the client and the host, resulting in unauthorized access to data and to the application’s internal environment, and potentially enabling man-in-the-middle attacks.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published