REDHAT-BUG-2223016: Low severity OpenSSL OpenSSL vulnerability

Published Jul 14, 2023
·
Updated

Issue summary: The AES-SIV cipher implementation contains a bug that causes it to ignore empty associated data entries which are unauthenticated as a consequence.

Impact summary: Applications that use the AES-SIV algorithm and want to authenticate empty data entries as associated data can be mislead by removing adding or reordering such empty entries as these are ignored by the OpenSSL implementation. We are currently unaware of any such applications.

The AES-SIV algorithm allows for authentication of multiple associated data entries along with the encryption. To authenticate empty data the application has to call EVPEncryptUpdate() (or EVPCipherUpdate()) with NULL pointer as the output buffer and 0 as the input buffer length. The AES-SIV implementation in OpenSSL just returns success for such a call instead of performing the associated data authentication operation. The empty data thus will not be authenticated.

As this issue does not affect non-empty associated data authentication and we expect it to be rare for an application to use empty associated data entries this is qualified as Low severity issue.

https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=6a83f0c958811f07e0d11dfc6b5a6a98edfd5bdc https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20230714.txt https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git;a=commitdiff;h=00e2f5eea29994d19293ec4e8c8775ba73678598

This has not been included in a specific release but has been added to the master, 3.1, and 3.0 branches https://github.com/openssl/openssl/pull/21384

Affected Software

1 affected component
OpenSSL OpenSSL>=3.0, >=3.1

Event History

Jul 14, 2023
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·09:01 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-2223016?

The severity of REDHAT-BUG-2223016 is critical due to potential authentication vulnerabilities in AES-SIV implementations.

2

How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-2223016?

To fix REDHAT-BUG-2223016, upgrade OpenSSL to version 3.1.0 or later.

3

Which software is affected by REDHAT-BUG-2223016?

OpenSSL versions between 3.0.0 and 3.1.0 are affected by REDHAT-BUG-2223016.

4

What is the impact of REDHAT-BUG-2223016?

The impact of REDHAT-BUG-2223016 is that applications may incorrectly handle empty associated data entries, resulting in unauthenticated data.

5

Can REDHAT-BUG-2223016 affect my application?

Yes, if your application uses the AES-SIV cipher in affected OpenSSL versions, it is vulnerable to REDHAT-BUG-2223016.

Contact

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