lib/Crypto/PublicKey/ElGamal.py in PyCrypto through 2.6.1 generates weak ElGamal key…
Priority LOW 37CWE-326Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-326.
Summary
lib/Crypto/PublicKey/ElGamal.py in PyCrypto through 2.6.1 generates weak ElGamal key parameters, which allows attackers to obtain sensitive information by reading ciphertext data (i.e., it does not have semantic security in face of a ciphertext-only attack). The Decisional Diffie-Hellman (DDH) assumption does not hold for PyCrypto's ElGamal implementation.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.02031 81st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Public exploit Yes 1 exploit referenceTagged by NVD
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | pycrypto (PyPI) | up to 2.6.1 | — | No fix listed | GHSA-6528-wvf6-f6qg |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- pycrypto (PyPI) Vendor— Affected up to 2.6.1 Fixed in — No fix listed GHSA-6528-wvf6-f6qg
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:dlitz:pycrypto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 2.6.1 | Vulnerable | Dlitz |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 12.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 14.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 16.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 17.10 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
- cpe:2.3:a:dlitz:pycrypto:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 2.6.1 Vulnerable ·Dlitz
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 12.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 14.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:17.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 17.10 Vulnerable ·Canonical
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| CloudForms Management Engine 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 1.3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 6 (Juno) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform 7 (Kilo) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenShift Enterprise 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10 (Newton) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 11 (Ocata) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 12 (Pike) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 13 (Queens) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 (Liberty) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 9 (Mitaka) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Storage 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Storage Console 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Virtualization 4 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-6594
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6528-wvf6-f6qg
References
Advisory 7
Sources
- CVE-2018-6594 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-6594 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6528-wvf6-f6qg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2018-6594 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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