CVE-2022-31006 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Hyperledger Indy is the server portion of Hyperledger Indy, a distributed ledger designed for decentralized identity management. A vulnerability in indy-node versions <= 1.12.6 allows an attacker to exhaust the client connections, impacting the ledger's availability without affecting its content. Learn more about the impact, technical details, and mitigation strategies below.

Understanding CVE-2022-31006

This section provides insights into the critical vulnerability found in Hyperledger Indy.

What is CVE-2022-31006?

In vulnerable versions of indy-node, an attacker can overload the ledger with client connections, rendering it unusable. This attack affects the ledger's availability without tampering with its content, posing a risk to network operations.

The Impact of CVE-2022-31006

The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 7.5, indicating a high severity level due to the significant impact on availability. Although the ledger will resume functioning after the attack, network operators must adjust firewall rules to prevent such attacks and maintain a balance between resilience and availability.

Technical Details of CVE-2022-31006

Explore the specific technical aspects of this vulnerability in Hyperledger Indy.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability stems from uncontrolled resource consumption, enabling attackers to overwhelm the ledger with client connections.

Affected Systems and Versions

Hyperledger indy-node versions <= 1.12.6 are susceptible to this denial of service vulnerability, requiring immediate attention and action from network operators.

Exploitation Mechanism

Attackers exploit the trade-off between resilience and availability by flooding the ledger with client connections, hindering its intended use while preserving data integrity.

Mitigation and Prevention

Discover the essential steps to mitigate and prevent the exploitation of CVE-2022-31006.

Immediate Steps to Take

Network operators should adjust firewall rules to protect against abusive client connections, ensuring network accessibility for legitimate users while thwarting denial of service attacks.

Long-Term Security Practices

Deployments of Indy must implement mitigations to prevent resource exhaustion attacks and maintain uninterrupted ledger services.

Patching and Updates

Apply the necessary mitigations to all Indy deployments, as the vulnerability is not related to a specific release. Enhance the network's security posture by increasing the complexity of mounting denial of service attacks.