crypto-js PBKDF2 1,000 times weaker than specified in 1993 and 1.3M times weaker than current standard

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Summary

CVECVE-2023-46233
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2023-10-25 21:15:10 UTC
Updated2026-06-23 18:17:34 UTC
Descriptioncrypto-js is a JavaScript library of crypto standards. Prior to version 4.2.0, crypto-js PBKDF2 is 1,000 times weaker than originally specified in 1993, and at least 1,300,000 times weaker than current industry standard. This is because it both defaults to SHA1, a cryptographic hash algorithm considered insecure since at least 2005, and defaults to one single iteration, a 'strength' or 'difficulty' value specified at 1,000 when specified in 1993. PBKDF2 relies on iteration count as a countermeasure to preimage and collision attacks. If used to protect passwords, the impact is high. If used to generate signatures, the impact is high. Version 4.2.0 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, configure crypto-js to use SHA256 with at least 250,000 iterations.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 9.1 CRITICAL from [email protected]

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

EPSS: 0.006350000 probability, percentile 0.456470000 (date 2026-06-23)

Problem Types: CWE-328 | CWE-916 | CWE-327 | CWE-328 CWE-328: Use of Weak Hash | CWE-916 CWE-916: Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary9.1CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.1[email protected]Secondary9.1CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
3.1CNADECLARED9.1CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

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

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Crypto-js Project Crypto-js All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Brix Crypto-js affected < 4.2.0 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
Change default hash algorithm and iteration's for PBKDF2 to prevent w… · brix/crypto-js@421dd53 · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Patch
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/11/msg00025.html af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 lists.debian.org
crypto-js PBKDF2 1,000 times weaker than specified in 1993 and 1.3M times weaker than current standard · Advisory · brix/crypto-js · GitHub af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 github.com Vendor Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Legacy QID Mappings

  • 6000354 Debian Security Update for cryptojs (DLA 3669-1)
  • 995721 NodeJs (Npm) Security Update for crypto-js (GHSA-xwcq-pm8m-c4vf)
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