Broken or risky cryptographic algorithm in nettle
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Information disclosure, Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-327, CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
A flaw was found in Nettle in versions before 3.7.2, where several Nettle signature verification functions (GOST DSA, EDDSA & ECDSA) result in the Elliptic Curve Cryptography point (ECC) multiply function being called with out-of-range scalers, possibly resulting in incorrect results. This flaw allows an attacker to force an invalid signature, causing an assertion failure or possible validation. The highest threat to this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.
Why it matters now
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | nettle | nettle 3.7.2 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- nettle Vendor— Affected nettle 3.7.2 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 8
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:nettle_project:nettle:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 3.7.2 | Vulnerable | Nettle Project |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 33 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:* | not specified by NVD | Vulnerable | NetApp |
| cpe:2.3:a:netapp:ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | not specified by NVD | Vulnerable | NetApp |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:a:nettle_project:nettle:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 3.7.2 Vulnerable ·Nettle Project
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 33 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:a:netapp:active_iq_unified_manager:-:*:*:*:*:vmware_vsphere:*:* Versions not specified by NVD Vulnerable ·NetApp
- cpe:2.3:a:netapp:ontap_select_deploy_administration_utility:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions not specified by NVD Vulnerable ·NetApp
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
Red Hat 8 advisories
- RHSA-2021:2760 Released 2021-07-19 · Red Hat rating Importantnettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.3) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_3, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_3
- RHSA-2021:2758 Released 2021-07-15 · Red Hat rating Importantnettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.4) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_4, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.4) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_4, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_4
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.4) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_4, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_4
- RHSA-2021:2356 Released 2021-06-09 · Red Hat rating Importantnettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.6) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_6, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.6) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_6, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.6) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_6, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_6
Show 5 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2021:2280 Released 2021-06-07 · Red Hat rating Importantnettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.7) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.7) nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.7) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_7, nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_7.ppc, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_7 +1
- RHSA-2021:1246 Released 2021-04-19 · Red Hat rating Importantgnutls and nettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) gnutls-c++-3.6.8-12.el8_2, gnutls-dane-3.6.8-12.el8_2, gnutls-devel-3.6.8-12.el8_2 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.2) gnutls-3.6.8-12.el8_2, nettle-3.4.1-2.el8_2
- RHSA-2021:1245 Released 2021-04-19 · Red Hat rating Importantgnutls and nettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.1) gnutls-c++-3.6.8-10.el8_1, gnutls-dane-3.6.8-10.el8_1, gnutls-devel-3.6.8-10.el8_1 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.1) gnutls-3.6.8-10.el8_1, nettle-3.4.1-2.el8_1
- RHSA-2021:1206 Released 2021-04-14 · Red Hat rating Importantgnutls and nettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) gnutls-c++-3.6.14-8.el8_3, gnutls-dane-3.6.14-8.el8_3, gnutls-devel-3.6.14-8.el8_3 +2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) gnutls-3.6.14-8.el8_3, nettle-3.4.1-4.el8_3
- RHSA-2021:1145 Released 2021-04-08 · Red Hat rating Importantnettle security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_9, nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_9.ppc, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_9 +1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) nettle-2.7.1-9.el7_9, nettle-devel-2.7.1-9.el7_9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1206 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.1) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1245 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 8.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1246 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1206 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.1) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1245 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v. 8.2) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1246 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1145 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1145 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2280 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1145 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2280 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1145 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.3) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2760 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2758 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2356 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2758 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2356 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2280 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2758 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:2356 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2021:1145 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10 (Newton)
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 13 (Queens)
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.1
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-20305
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6xrq-2ww3-f6h5
References
Sources
- CVE-2021-20305 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-20305 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6xrq-2ww3-f6h5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-20305 · 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