ECDSA remote timing attack
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 fixed, 7 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Normally in OpenSSL EC groups always have a co-factor present and this is used in side channel resistant code paths. However, in some cases, it is possible to construct a group using explicit parameters (instead of using a named curve). In those cases it is possible that such a group does not have the cofactor present. This can occur even where all the parameters match a known named curve. If such a curve is used then OpenSSL falls back to non-side channel resistant code paths which may result in full key recovery during an ECDSA signature operation. In order to be vulnerable an attacker would have to have the ability to time the creation of a large number of signatures where explicit parameters with no co-factor present are in use by an application using libcrypto. For the avoidance of doubt libssl is not vulnerable because explicit parameters are never used. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1d (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1c). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.0l (Affected 1.1.0-1.1.0k). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2t (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2s).
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenSSL | OpenSSL | Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1d (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1c); Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.0l (Affected 1.1.0-1.1.0k); Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2t (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2s) | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- OpenSSL VendorOpenSSL Affected Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1d (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1c); Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.0l (Affected 1.1.0-1.1.0k); Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2t (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2s) Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
Red Hat 3 advisories
- RHSA-2020:1840 Released 2020-04-28 · Red Hat rating Moderateopenssl security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) openssl-1:1.1.1c-15.el8, openssl-devel-1:1.1.1c-15.el8, openssl-libs-1:1.1.1c-15.el8 +1
- RHSA-2020:1337 Released 2020-04-06 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP2 security update
- Red Hat JBoss Core Services on RHEL 6 Server jbcs-httpd24-apr-1.6.3-86.jbcs.el6, jbcs-httpd24-apr-devel-1.6.3-86.jbcs.el6, jbcs-httpd24-brotli-1.0.6-21.jbcs.el6 +17
- Red Hat JBoss Core Services on RHEL 7 Server jbcs-httpd24-apr-1.6.3-86.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-apr-devel-1.6.3-86.jbcs.el7, jbcs-httpd24-brotli-1.0.6-21.jbcs.el7 +17
- RHSA-2020:1336 Released 2020-04-06 · Red Hat rating ModerateRed Hat JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP2 security update
- JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP2
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — FEDORA-2019-d15aac6c4e
3 records Highest priority Priority LOW 3 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01187 Fork ProtectionPriority LOW 33
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — FEDORA-2019-d51641f152
3 records Highest priority Priority LOW 3 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01187 Fork ProtectionPriority LOW 33
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
Show 8 more groups
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — USN-4376-1
3 records Highest priority Priority LOW 3 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01187 Fork ProtectionPriority LOW 33
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — DSA-4539
3 records Highest priority Priority LOW 3 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01187 Fork ProtectionPriority LOW 33
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — openSUSE-SU-2019:2158
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — openSUSE-SU-2019:2189
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — openSUSE-SU-2019:2268
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — openSUSE-SU-2019:2269
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — GLSA-201911-04
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
- Advisory ·
OpenSSL — DSA-4540
2 records Highest priority Priority LOW 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2019-01191 Padding Oracle in PKCS7_dataDecode and CMS_decrypt_set1_pkeyPriority LOW 30
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Web Server 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Web Server 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| JBoss Core Services Apache HTTP Server 2.4.37 SP2 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1336 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1840 |
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services on RHEL 6 Server | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1337 |
| Red Hat JBoss Core Services on RHEL 7 Server | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1337 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2019-1547
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q2qv-648h-wcqp
References
Advisory 15
- 20190912 [slackware-security] openssl (SSA:2019-254-03)
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2158
- FEDORA-2019-d15aac6c4e
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2189
- FEDORA-2019-d51641f152
- DSA-4539
- DSA-4540
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2268
- openSUSE-SU-2019:2269
- GLSA-201911-04
- USN-4376-1
- https://www.openssl.org/news/secadv/20190910.txt
- https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.01785
- USN-4376-2
- USN-4504-1
Other 20
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190925 [SECURITY] [DLA 1932-1] openssl security update
- 20191001 [SECURITY] [DSA 4539-1] openssl security update
- 20191001 [SECURITY] [DSA 4540-1] openssl1.0 security update
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
- https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2019-5072832.html
- https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-08
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.html
- https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=30c22fa8b1d840036b8e203585738df62a03cec8
- https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=7c1709c2da5414f5b6133d00a03fc8c5bf996c7a
- https://git.openssl.org/gitweb/?p=openssl.git%3Ba=commitdiff%3Bh=21c856b75d81eff61aa63b4f036bb64a85bf6d46
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154467/Slackware-Security-Advisory-openssl-Updates.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190919-0002/
- https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K73422160?utm_source=f5support&%3Butm_medium=RSS
- https://www.tenable.com/security/tns-2019-09
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200122-0002/
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200416-0003/
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10365
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0006/
More Openssl vulnerabilities
- TI-2022-01915 The c_rehash script allows command injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-02645 SM2 Decryption Buffer Overflow CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2009-03392 The TLS protocol, and the SSL protocol 3.0 and possibly earlier, as used in Microsoft… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-01176 The c_rehash script allows command injection CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-00154 The (1) TLS and (2) DTLS implementations in OpenSSL 1.0.1 before 1.0.1g do not properly… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-14107 Stack buffer overflow in CMS (Auth)EnvelopedData parsing CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2019-1547 · CVE Program
- CVE-2019-1547 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q2qv-648h-wcqp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2019-1547 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences