GHSA-w7pp-m8wf-vj6r CVE-2023-23931 PYSEC-2023-11
Cipher.update_into can corrupt memory if passed an immutable python object as the outbuf
Medium
PyPI
- Severity
- 6.9 / 10
- Medium · CVSS 4.0
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 1.30%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 70.47% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Weakness
- CWE-754 Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions
- Fix
39.0.1- Upgrade cryptography to this version or later
Description
Previously, Cipher.update_into would accept Python objects which implement the buffer protocol, but provide only immutable buffers:
>>> outbuf = b"\x00" * 32
>>> c = ciphers.Cipher(AES(b"\x00" * 32), modes.ECB()).encryptor()
>>> c.update_into(b"\x00" * 16, outbuf)
16
>>> outbuf
b'\xdc\x95\xc0x\xa2@\x89\x89\xadH\xa2\x14\x92\x84 \x87\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00'
This would allow immutable objects (such as bytes) to be mutated, thus violating fundamental rules of Python. This is a soundness bug -- it allows programmers to misuse an API, it cannot be exploited by attacker controlled data alone.
This now correctly raises an exception.
This issue has been present since update_into was originally introduced in cryptography 1.8.
Affected versions
PyPI
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| cryptography | >= 1.8, < 39.0.1 |
39.0.1 |
| cryptography | >= 1.8, < 39.0.1 |
39.0.1 |
| cryptography | >= 1.8, < 39.0.1 |
39.0.1 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
cryptography PyPI → 39.0.1
- pip
pip install --upgrade "cryptography>=39.0.1"- poetry
poetry add "cryptography>=39.0.1"- uv
uv add "cryptography>=39.0.1"
Severity breakdown
CVSS 4.0 6.9
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- None
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- Low
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- Low
- Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
- None
- Integrity (subsequent systems)
- None
- Availability (subsequent systems)
- None
CVSS 3.1 6.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
Weakness
CWE-754: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions
The product does not check or incorrectly checks for unusual or exceptional conditions that are not expected to occur frequently during day to day operation of the product.
How to prevent it
- Requirements: Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Choose languages with features such as exception handling that force the programmer to anticipate unusual conditions that may generate exceptions. Custom exceptions may need to be developed to handle unusual business-logic conditions. Be careful not to pass sensitive exceptions back to the user (CWE-209, CWE-248).
- Implementation: Check the results of all functions that return a value and verify that the value is expected.
- Implementation: If using exception handling, catch and throw specific exceptions instead of overly-general exceptions (CWE-396, CWE-397). Catch and handle exceptions as locally as possible so that exceptions do not propagate too far up the call stack (CWE-705). Avoid unchecked or uncaught exceptions where feasible (CWE-248).
- Implementation: Ensure that error messages only contain minimal details that are useful to the intended audience and no one else. The messages need to strike the balance between being too cryptic (which can confuse users) or being too detailed (which may reveal more than intended). The messages should not reveal the methods that were used to determine the error. Attackers can use detailed information to refine or optimize their original attack, thereby increasing their chances of success. If errors must be captured in some detail, record them in log messages, but consider what could occur if the log messages can be viewed by attackers. Highly sensitive information such as passwords should never be saved to log files. Avoid inconsistent messaging that might accidentally tip off an attacker about internal state, such as whether a user account exists or not. Exposing additional information to a potential attacker in the context of an exceptional condition can help the attacker determine what attack vectors are most likely to succeed beyond DoS.
- Implementation: Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
- Architecture and Design, Implementation: If the program must fail, ensure that it fails gracefully (fails closed). There may be a temptation to simply let the program fail poorly in cases such as low memory conditions, but an attacker may be able to assert control before the software has fully exited. Alternately, an uncontrolled failure could cause cascading problems with other downstream components; for example, the program could send a signal to a downstream process so the process immediately knows that a problem has occurred and has a better chance of recovery.
- Architecture and Design: Use system limits, which should help to prevent resource exhaustion. However, the product should still handle low resource conditions since they may still occur.
References
Advisories
Fixes and patches
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| GHSA-m2h6-j472-rp4c python-cryptography verifier accepts wildcard DNS names allowing escape from permittedSubtrees | Medium | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-jwv3-5hgf-82ww python-cryptography: Duplicate self-signed intermediates can cause exponential path-building | High | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-g6cj-pr64-35w5 cryptography: PKCS#7 EnvelopedData decryption exposes a Bleichenbacher oracle through distinguishable errors and timing | High | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-537c-gmf6-5ccf Vulnerable OpenSSL included in cryptography wheels | High | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-p423-j2cm-9vmq Cryptography vulnerable to buffer overflow if non-contiguous buffers were passed to APIs | Medium | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-m959-cc7f-wv43 cryptography has incomplete DNS name constraint enforcement on peer names | Low | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-r6ph-v2qm-q3c2 cryptography Vulnerable to a Subgroup Attack Due to Missing Subgroup Validation for SECT Curves | High | Also affects cryptography |
| GHSA-79v4-65xg-pq4g Vulnerable OpenSSL included in cryptography wheels | Medium | Also affects cryptography |
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