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Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

CVE-2023-49290

Medium
5.3/10

Summary

The package lestrrat-go/jwx is a Go module implementing various JWx (JWA/JWE/JWK/JWS/JWT, otherwise known as JOSE) technologies. A p2c parameter set too high in JWE's algorithm PBES2-* could lead to a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. The JWE key management algorithms based on PBKDF2 require a JOSE Header Parameter called p2c (PBES2 Count). This parameter dictates the number of PBKDF2 iterations needed to derive a CEK wrapping key. Its primary purpose is to intentionally slow down the key derivation function, making password brute-force and dictionary attacks more resource-intensive. Therefore, if an attacker sets the p2c parameter in JWE to a very large number, it can cause a lot of computational consumption, resulting in a denial of service. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. This vulnerability affects github.com/lestrrat-go/jwx package versions prior to 1.2.27, and 2.0.x prior to 2.0.18.

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

CWE-400 - Uncontrolled resource consumption

An uncontrolled resource allocation attack (also known as resource exhaustion attack) triggers unauthorized overconsumption of the limited resources in an application, such as memory, file system storage, database connection pool entries, and CPU. This may lead to denial of service for valid users and degradation of the application's functionality as well as that of the host operating system.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published