UBUNTU-CVE-2024-13176: Medium severity ubuntu/openssl vulnerability

Q: Who is realistically exposed to this timing side-channel?

Systems performing ECDSA signing with affected implementations are most exposed when an attacker can run locally on the same physical computer. Remote exploitation would require a very fast, low-latency network connection.

Q: Which elliptic curves are most relevant to this issue?

The timing signal has significant probability only for some supported elliptic curves. NIST P-521 is specifically identified as affected.

Q: What capability does an attacker need to recover a private key?

The attacker must measure approximately a 300-nanosecond timing signal during ECDSA signature computations, occurring when the top word of the inverted ECDSA nonce is zero. This requires either local access to the signing application or an unusually fast, low-latency network path.

Q: Are FIPS modules affected?

Yes. The FIPS modules in versions 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 are identified as affected.

Published Jan 20, 2025

Updated

Issue summary: A timing side-channel which could potentially allow recovering the private key exists in the ECDSA signature computation. Impact summary: A timing side-channel in ECDSA signature computations could allow recovering the private key by an attacker. However, measuring the timing would require either local access to the signing application or a very fast network connection with low latency. There is a timing signal of around 300 nanoseconds when the top word of the inverted ECDSA nonce value is zero. This can happen with significant probability only for some of the supported elliptic curves. In particular the NIST P-521 curve is affected. To be able to measure this leak, the attacker process must either be located in the same physical computer or must have a very fast network connection with low latency. For that reason the severity of this vulnerability is Low. The FIPS modules in 3.4, 3.3, 3.2, 3.1 and 3.0 are affected by this issue.

Affected Software

26 affected componentsFixes available

ubuntu/openssl*

ubuntu/edk2*

ubuntu/openssl*

ubuntu/openssl1.0*

ubuntu/edk2*

ubuntu/openssl*

ubuntu/openssl<1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.24

1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.24

ubuntu/edk2*

ubuntu/openssl<1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.fips.24

1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.fips.24

ubuntu/openssl*

ubuntu/edk2<2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.4

2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.4

ubuntu/openssl<3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19

3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19

ubuntu/nodejs*

ubuntu/openssl*

ubuntu/openssl-fips*

ubuntu/openssl<3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19+Fips1

3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19+Fips1

ubuntu/openssl-fips*

ubuntu/edk2<2024.02-2ubuntu0.6

2024.02-2ubuntu0.6

ubuntu/openssl<3.0.13-0ubuntu3.5

3.0.13-0ubuntu3.5

ubuntu/openssl-fips<3.0.13-0ubuntu3.6+Fips1

3.0.13-0ubuntu3.6+Fips1

ubuntu/edk2<2025.02-8ubuntu3

2025.02-8ubuntu3

ubuntu/edk2<2025.02-8ubuntu3

2025.02-8ubuntu3

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.24
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.fips.24
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/edk2 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.4
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 3.0.2-0ubuntu1.19+Fips1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/edk2 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 2024.02-2ubuntu0.6
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 3.0.13-0ubuntu3.5
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/openssl-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 3.0.13-0ubuntu3.6+Fips1
Upgrade
Upgrade ubuntu/edk2 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Fixed in 2025.02-8ubuntu3

Event History

Jan 20, 2025

CVE Published

via OSV·02:15 PM

Data Sourced

via OSV·02:15 PM

DescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this timing side-channel?

Systems performing ECDSA signing with affected implementations are most exposed when an attacker can run locally on the same physical computer. Remote exploitation would require a very fast, low-latency network connection.

Which elliptic curves are most relevant to this issue?

The timing signal has significant probability only for some supported elliptic curves. NIST P-521 is specifically identified as affected.

What capability does an attacker need to recover a private key?

The attacker must measure approximately a 300-nanosecond timing signal during ECDSA signature computations, occurring when the top word of the inverted ECDSA nonce is zero. This requires either local access to the signing application or an unusually fast, low-latency network path.

Are FIPS modules affected?

Yes. The FIPS modules in versions 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 are identified as affected.

UBUNTU-CVE-2024-13176: Medium severity ubuntu/openssl vulnerability

Affected Software

Remediation

Event History

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this timing side-channel?

Which elliptic curves are most relevant to this issue?

What capability does an attacker need to recover a private key?

Are FIPS modules affected?

Company

Resources

Contact

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is realistically exposed to this timing side-channel?

Which elliptic curves are most relevant to this issue?

What capability does an attacker need to recover a private key?

Are FIPS modules affected?