CVE-2019-6486 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

CVE-2019-6486 was published on January 24, 2019, and affects versions prior to 1.10.8 and 1.11.x prior to 1.11.5. This vulnerability in Go mishandles P-521 and P-384 elliptic curves, potentially enabling denial of service attacks and ECDH private key recovery attacks.

Understanding CVE-2019-6486

This CVE entry highlights a security flaw in Go versions that could lead to severe consequences if exploited.

What is CVE-2019-6486?

CVE-2019-6486 is a vulnerability in Go versions before 1.10.8 and 1.11.x before 1.11.5 that mishandles P-521 and P-384 elliptic curves, allowing attackers to launch denial of service attacks or perform ECDH private key recovery attacks.

The Impact of CVE-2019-6486

The mishandling of elliptic curves in affected versions of Go can result in CPU consumption attacks, leading to denial of service, and potentially enabling attackers to recover ECDH private keys.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-6486

This section delves into the technical aspects of the CVE.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from the mishandling of P-521 and P-384 elliptic curves in Go versions prior to 1.10.8 and 1.11.x before 1.11.5.

Affected Systems and Versions

Versions prior to 1.10.8 and 1.11.x before 1.11.5 of Go are impacted by this vulnerability.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers can exploit this flaw to launch CPU consumption attacks, resulting in denial of service, or potentially recover ECDH private keys.

Mitigation and Prevention

Protecting systems from CVE-2019-6486 requires immediate actions and long-term security practices.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Go to versions 1.10.8 or 1.11.5 to mitigate the vulnerability.
Monitor system resources for any unusual CPU consumption that could indicate an attack.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly update software and libraries to patch known vulnerabilities.
Implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the impact of potential attacks.
Educate users and administrators on secure coding practices and the importance of timely updates.
Employ intrusion detection systems to identify and respond to malicious activities.
Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to proactively identify and address security weaknesses.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that all systems running affected versions of Go are promptly updated to versions 1.10.8 or 1.11.5 to address the vulnerability.