Timing side channel in pure-Erlang X25519 leaks private keys in jose
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- Information disclosure
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-208.
Summary
The potatosalad jose library from 1.10.0 before 1.11.13 uses a pure-Erlang X25519 fallback whose running time depends on the private key. The scalar multiplication branches on individual bits of the secret scalar and uses value-dependent bignum arithmetic, an observable timing discrepancy (CWE-208). An attacker who can submit ciphertexts and measure decryption timing can, in principle, recover a long-term X25519 private key bit by bit when a service decrypts ECDH-ES JWE messages, which compromises the data that key protects.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
Observable Timing Discrepancy vulnerability in potatosalad jose allows recovery of a long-term X25519 private key through a timing side channel in the pure-Erlang Curve25519 fallback. The pure-Erlang X25519 implementation performs scalar multiplication over the secret private key using a recursive Montgomery ladder (jose_jwa_x25519:curve25519/2) whose clauses branch on individual bits of the clamped private scalar, and whose per-step operations (jose_jwa_x25519:montgomery_add/3 and jose_jwa_x25519:montgomery_double/1) and field inversion are built from value-dependent Erlang bignum arithmetic (multiplication, remainder, and modular exponentiation). Although the ladder is operation-count balanced and fixed at 254 steps, the concrete integer values processed at each step, and therefore the running time, depend on the secret scalar. The execution time of the public entry points jose_jwa_x25519:scalarmult/2, jose_jwa_x25519:x25519/2, jose_jwa_x25519:x25519_base/1, and jose_jwa_x25519:sk_to_pk/1 is thus a function of the private key. This path is reachable from the public API, most notably when a service decrypts attacker-supplied ECDH-ES (JWE) messages with a long-term X25519 key (for example through JOSE.JWK.box_decrypt_ecdh_es/2, which reaches jose_jwa_curve25519:x25519_shared_secret/2 and the ladder). An attacker who can submit ciphertexts and measure decryption timing can, in principle, recover the private key bit by bit, defeating the resistance X25519 was designed to provide. Recovery of the key compromises the confidentiality and authenticity of all data protected by it. This issue affects jose: from 1.10.0 before 1.11.13.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| potatosalad | jose | 1.10.0 to before 1.11.13 | 1.11.13 | Patch available | CNA |
- jose Vendorpotatosalad Affected 1.10.0 to before 1.11.13 Fixed in 1.11.13 Patch available CNA
CPE names CNA · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:potatosalad:jose:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | — | — | potatosalad |
- cpe:2.3:a:potatosalad:jose:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·potatosalad
Remediation
Upgrade potatosalad jose to version 1.11.13, which fixes this issue.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA jose (potatosalad) Fixed in 1.11.13
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
potatosalad jose 1.11.13
8 records Highest priority Priority HIGH 1 HIGH, 5 MEDIUM, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-80576 Weak key derivation in jose password-protected key exportPriority HIGH 68
- TI-2026-80578 erlang-jose JWK parsing CPU exhaustion via attacker-chosen RSA modulusPriority MEDIUM 64
- TI-2026-80574 Decompression bomb in potatosalad jose exhausts memory via JWE tokensPriority MEDIUM 64
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-26 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-65630
- 2026-10-27 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-11-02 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-02 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CVSS score added · Red Hat
References
More potatosalad vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-80576 Weak key derivation in jose password-protected key export CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.4
- TI-2026-80578 erlang-jose JWK parsing CPU exhaustion via attacker-chosen RSA modulus CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
- TI-2026-80574 Decompression bomb in potatosalad jose exhausts memory via JWE tokens CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.9
- TI-2026-80575 Unbounded recursion in jose JWK shared secret derivation causes DoS CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.9
- TI-2026-80579 ECDSA signature length is not validated in jose, allowing signature malleability CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.1
- TI-2026-80573 Bleichenbacher padding oracle in RSAES-PKCS1-v1_5 decryption in jose CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 5.9
Sources
- CVE-2026-65630 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-65630 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- CVE-2026-65630 · 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