CVE-2023-46129

xkeys Seal encryption used fixed key for all encryption

Description

NATS.io is a high performance open source pub-sub distributed communication technology, built for the cloud, on-premise, IoT, and edge computing. The cryptographic key handling library, nkeys, recently gained support for encryption, not just for signing/authentication. This is used in nats-server 2.10 (Sep 2023) and newer for authentication callouts. In nkeys versions 0.4.0 through 0.4.5, corresponding with NATS server versions 2.10.0 through 2.10.3, the nkeys library's `xkeys` encryption handling logic mistakenly passed an array by value into an internal function, where the function mutated that buffer to populate the encryption key to use. As a result, all encryption was actually to an all-zeros key. This affects encryption only, not signing. FIXME: FILL IN IMPACT ON NATS-SERVER AUTH CALLOUT SECURITY. nkeys Go library 0.4.6, corresponding with NATS Server 2.10.4, has a patch for this issue. No known workarounds are available. For any application handling auth callouts in Go, if using the nkeys library, update the dependency, recompile and deploy that in lockstep.

Category

7.5
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 3.1 •
EPSS 0.12%
Vendor Advisory github.com
Affected: nats-io nkeys
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://github.com/nats-io/nkeys/security/advisories/GHSA-mr45-rx8q-wcm9 vendor advisory
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/31/1 third party advisory mailing list
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ULQQONMSCQSH5Z5OWFFQHCGEZ3NL4DRJ/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/R3UETKPUB3V5JS5TLZOF3SMTGT5K5APS/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2023-46129?
CVE-2023-46129 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2023-46129?
To fix CVE-2023-46129, make sure you are using an up-to-date version of the affected component(s) by checking the vendor release notes. As for now, there are no other specific guidelines available.
Is CVE-2023-46129 being actively exploited in the wild?
As for now, there are no information to confirm that CVE-2023-46129 is being actively exploited. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2023-46129?
CVE-2023-46129 affects nats-io nkeys.
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