CVE-2023-25000 : What You Need to Know
Learn about CVE-2023-25000, a vulnerability in HashiCorp Vault involving Shamir's secret sharing susceptible to cache-timing attacks during seal and unseal operations. Find out how to mitigate and prevent this issue.
This CVE involves a vulnerability in HashiCorp Vault, where the implementation of Shamir's secret sharing was susceptible to cache-timing attacks during seal and unseal operations.
Understanding CVE-2023-25000
This section will delve into the details of CVE-2023-25000, shedding light on the nature of the vulnerability and its impact.
What is CVE-2023-25000?
CVE-2023-25000 pertains to HashiCorp Vault's utilization of Shamir's secret sharing with precomputed table lookups, rendering it vulnerable to cache-timing attacks. This vulnerability could allow an attacker observing numerous unseal operations to reduce the search space for recovering Shamir shares.
The Impact of CVE-2023-25000
The impact of this vulnerability lies in the potential exposure of sensitive data embedded in the cache, as detailed in CAPEC-204 (Lifting Sensitive Data Embedded in Cache).
Technical Details of CVE-2023-25000
This section will provide more technical insights into the vulnerability, including its description, affected systems and versions, as well as the exploitation mechanism.
Vulnerability Description
The vulnerability in HashiCorp Vault's implementation of Shamir's secret sharing allows attackers to leverage cache-timing attacks during seal and unseal operations, potentially compromising sensitive data.
Affected Systems and Versions
The affected systems include HashiCorp's Vault and Vault Enterprise on various platforms such as Windows, MacOS, Linux, x86, ARM, 64-bit, and 32-bit. Specific affected versions include 1.13.0 (less than 1.13.1), 1.12.0 (less than 1.12.5), and 1.11.0 (less than 1.11.9).
Exploitation Mechanism
Exploiting this vulnerability involves observing a significant number of unseal operations on the host to gain insights that can facilitate a reduction in the search space required for a brute force attack to recover Shamir shares.
Mitigation and Prevention
To address CVE-2023-25000, it is crucial to implement immediate steps, adopt long-term security practices, and prioritize patching and updates.
Immediate Steps to Take
Organizations using HashiCorp Vault should promptly update to the patched versions - 1.13.1, 1.12.5, or 1.11.9 - to mitigate the vulnerability and enhance security.
Long-Term Security Practices
In the long term, it is advisable to regularly monitor for security updates, conduct thorough security assessments, and enhance overall security posture to prevent similar vulnerabilities.
Patching and Updates
Regularly applying security patches and updates provided by HashiCorp for Vault is essential to address existing vulnerabilities, enhance system security, and protect sensitive data from potential exploitation.