libp2p nodes vulnerable to attack using large RSA keys

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Summary

CVECVE-2023-39533
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2023-08-08 19:15:10 UTC
Updated2026-09-01 22:17:08 UTC
Descriptiongo-libp2p is the Go implementation of the libp2p Networking Stack. Prior to versions 0.27.8, 0.28.2, and 0.29.1 malicious peer can use large RSA keys to run a resource exhaustion attack & force a node to spend time doing signature verification of the large key. This vulnerability is present in the core/crypto module of go-libp2p and can occur during the Noise handshake and the libp2p x509 extension verification step. To prevent this attack, go-libp2p versions 0.27.8, 0.28.2, and 0.29.1 restrict RSA keys to <= 8192 bits. To protect one's application, it is necessary to update to these patch releases and to use the updated Go compiler in 1.20.7 or 1.19.12. There are no known workarounds for this issue.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-770 | CWE-770 CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1[email protected]Secondary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Libp2p Go-libp2p All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Libp2p Go-libp2p affected < 0.27.8 Not specified
CNA Libp2p Go-libp2p affected >= 0.28.0, < 0.28.2 Not specified
CNA Libp2p Go-libp2p affected = 0.29.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
core/crypto: restrict RSA keys to <= 8192 bits (#2454) · libp2p/go-libp2p@e30fcf7 · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch
core/crypto: restrict RSA keys to <= 8192 bits (#2454) · libp2p/go-libp2p@0cce607 · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch
crypto/tls: restrict RSA keys in certificates to <= 8192 bits · golang/go@2350afd · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Not Applicable, Patch
crypto/tls: verifying certificate chains containing large RSA keys is slow [CVE-2023-29409] · Issue #61460 · golang/go · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Issue Tracking, Not Applicable, Vendor Advisory
libp2p nodes vulnerable to attack using large RSA keys · Advisory · libp2p/go-libp2p · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch, Vendor Advisory
core/crypto: restrict RSA keys to <= 8192 bits by MarcoPolo · Pull Request #2454 · libp2p/go-libp2p · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory
nrdax.com/techniques/NRDAX-T0205-pre-handshake-crypto-cpu-burn [email protected] nrdax.com
update qtls to restrict RSA keys in certificates to <= 8192 bits by marten-seemann · Pull Request #4012 · quic-go/quic-go · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch, Third Party Advisory
core/crypto: restrict RSA keys to <= 8192 bits (#2454) · libp2p/go-libp2p@445be52 · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 907821 Common Base Linux Mariner (CBL-Mariner) Security Update for golang (27872-2)
  • 994783 GO (Go) Security Update for github.com/libp2p/go-libp2p (GHSA-876p-8259-xjgg)

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