Improper sanitization of MXCSR and RFLAGS in OpenEnclave
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Open Enclave is a hardware-agnostic open source library for developing applications that utilize Hardware-based Trusted Execution Environments, also known as Enclaves. There are two issues that are mitigated in version 0.19.3. First, Open Enclave SDK does not properly sanitize the `MXCSR` register on enclave entry. This makes applications vulnerable to MXCSR Configuration Dependent Timing (MCDT) attacks, where incorrect `MXCSR` values can impact instruction retirement by at most one cycle, depending on the (secret) data operand value. Please find more details in the guidance from Intel in the references. Second, Open Enclave SDK does not sanitize x86's alignment check flag `RFLAGS.AC` on enclave entry. This opens up the possibility for a side-channel attacker to be notified for every unaligned memory access performed by the enclave. The issue has been addressed in version 0.19.3 and the current master branch. Users will need to recompile their applications against the patched libraries to be protected from this vulnerability. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| openenclave | openenclave | before 0.19.3 | 0.19.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- openenclave Vendoropenenclave Affected before 0.19.3 Fixed in 0.19.3 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:openenclave:openenclave:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 0.19.3 | Vulnerable | openenclave |
- cpe:2.3:a:openenclave:openenclave:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 0.19.3 Vulnerable ·openenclave
Remediation
- Fix · CNA openenclave (openenclave) Fixed in 0.19.3
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-37479
References
More Openenclave vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-11996 Socket syscalls can leak enclave memory contents in Open Enclave CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.8
- TI-2020-11882 x87 FPU operations in enclaves are vulnerable to ABI poisoning in openenclave CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences