Excessive time spent checking DSA keys and parameters
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
Issue summary: Checking excessively long DSA keys or parameters may be very slow. Impact summary: Applications that use the functions EVP_PKEY_param_check() or EVP_PKEY_public_check() to check a DSA public key or DSA parameters may experience long delays. Where the key or parameters that are being checked have been obtained from an untrusted source this may lead to a Denial of Service. The functions EVP_PKEY_param_check() or EVP_PKEY_public_check() perform various checks on DSA parameters. Some of those computations take a long time if the modulus (`p` parameter) is too large. Trying to use a very large modulus is slow and OpenSSL will not allow using public keys with a modulus which is over 10,000 bits in length for signature verification. However the key and parameter check functions do not limit the modulus size when performing the checks. An application that calls EVP_PKEY_param_check() or EVP_PKEY_public_check() and supplies a key or parameters obtained from an untrusted source could be vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack. These functions are not called by OpenSSL itself on untrusted DSA keys so only applications that directly call these functions may be vulnerable. Also vulnerable are the OpenSSL pkey and pkeyparam command line applications when using the `-check` option. The OpenSSL SSL/TLS implementation is not affected by this issue. The OpenSSL 3.0 and 3.1 FIPS providers are affected by this issue.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 | 3.0.0 to before 3.0.14; 3.1.0 to before 3.1.6; 3.2.0 to before 3.2.2; 3.3.0 to before 3.3.1 | 3.0.14, 3.1.6, 3.2.2, 3.3.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- OpenSSL VendorOpenSSL Affected 3.0.0 to before 3.0.14; 3.1.0 to before 3.1.6; 3.2.0 to before 3.2.2; 3.3.0 to before 3.3.1 Fixed in 3.0.14, 3.1.6, 3.2.2, 3.3.1 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA OpenSSL (OpenSSL) Fixed in 3.0.14, 3.1.6, 3.2.2, 3.3.1
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2024:9333 Released 2024-11-12 · Red Hat rating Lowopenssl and openssl-fips-provider security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) openssl-devel-1:3.2.2-6.el9_5, openssl-perl-1:3.2.2-6.el9_5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) openssl-1:3.2.2-6.el9_5, openssl-libs-1:3.2.2-6.el9_5
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Logging Subsystem for Red Hat OpenShift | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat 3scale API Management Platform 2 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9333 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2024:9333 |
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9)
- Red Hat JBoss Core Services
- Red Hat JBoss Web Server 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-4603
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-85xr-ghj6-6m46
References
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-2024-4603 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-4603 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-85xr-ghj6-6m46 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-4603 · 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