ECC private-key recovery via timing side channel
Published Apr 12, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024
Timing side channel in wolfSSL before 4.4.0 allows attackers to recover ECC signing keys by measuring scalar-multiplication timing. The wc_ecc_mulmod_ex routine in ecc.c performs scalar multiplication with secret-dependent execution and cache behavior instead of keeping operations constant-time and cache-resistant. Exploitation requires repeated ECDSA signing operations and sufficiently precise timing or shared-cache observation; successful analysis discloses the private key.
Summary
What happened
Timing side channel in wolfSSL before 4.4.0 allows attackers to recover ECC signing keys by measuring scalar-multiplication timing. The wc_ecc_mulmod_ex routine in ecc.c performs scalar multiplication with secret-dependent execution and cache behavior instead of keeping operations constant-time and cache-resistant. Exploitation requires repeated ECDSA signing operations and sufficiently precise timing or shared-cache observation; successful analysis discloses the private key.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-11713
- Published
- Apr 12, 2020
- Updated
- Aug 4, 2024
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-203, CAPEC-189
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 12, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- wolfssl_4.3.0_ecc_mulmod_poc.cproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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