ntpd NTS client denial of service via wrongly sized cookies
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from GitHub. Impact type from CWE-369.
Summary
Two denial of service vulnerabilities were found in ntpd-rs related to the handling of NTS cookies in our client functionality. Whenever an NTS source is configured and the server behind that source is sending zero-sized cookies or cookies larger than what would fit in our buffer size, ntpd-rs would crash. Only configured NTS sources can abuse these vulnerabilities. NTP sources or third parties that are not configured cannot make use of these vulnerabilities. For zero-sized cookies: a division by zero would force an exit when the number of new cookies that would need to be requested is calculated. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added to prevent the division by zero. For large cookies: while trying to send a NTP request with the cookie included, the buffer is too small to handle the cookie and an exit of ntpd-rs is forced once a write to the buffer is attempted. The memory outside the buffer would not be written to in this case. In ntpd-rs 1.5.0 a check was added that prevents accepting cookies larger than 350 bytes. Users of older versions of ntpd-rs are recommended to update to the latest version. If an update is impossible, it is recommended to only add NTS sources to ntpd-rs that are trusted to not abuse this bug.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ntpd (crates.io) | before 1.5.0 | 1.5.0 | Patch available | GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38 |
- ntpd (crates.io) Vendor— Affected before 1.5.0 Fixed in 1.5.0 Patch available GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38 ntpd (crates.io) Fixed in 1.5.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-03 Threatist record created from GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38
References
Other 4
- https://github.com/pendulum-project/ntpd-rs/security/advisories/GHSA-v83q-83hj-rw38
- https://github.com/pendulum-project/ntpd-rs/commit/10a103b471dae25ac598140df0c195b6531bf716
- https://github.com/pendulum-project/ntpd-rs/commit/37dd8d9a0faa03e7dfe3a4bf64953010f075c3e2
- https://github.com/pendulum-project/ntpd-rs
Sources
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences