CVE-2018-16115 Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in akka-actor
Attackers can eavesdrop, replay, or modify Akka Remoting messages if vulnerable custom random number generators are enabled in configuration.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2018-16115?
CVE-2018-16115 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 29 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Lightbend Akka 2.5.x before 2.5.16 allows message disclosure and modification because of an RNG error. A random number generator is used in Akka Remoting for TLS (both classic and Artery Remoting). Akka allows configuration of custom random number generators. For historical reasons, Akka included the AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG random number generators. The implementations had a bug that caused the generated numbers to be repeated after only a few bytes. The custom RNG implementations were not configured by default but examples in the documentation showed (and therefore implicitly recommended) using the custom ones. This can be used by an attacker to compromise the communication if these random number generators are enabled in configuration. It would be possible to eavesdrop, replay, or modify the messages sent with Akka Remoting/Cluster.
Weakness: CWE-338
Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16115?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.11 and com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.12. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.11 Maven | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.16 |
com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.11 Maven | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.16 |
com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.12 Maven | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.16 |
com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.12 Maven | From 2.5.0 | 2.5.16 |
Products include Lightbend Akka.
How do I fix CVE-2018-16115?
Upgrade com.typesafe.akka:akka-actor_2.11 to 2.5.16 or later.
Is CVE-2018-16115 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16115 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-mr95-9rr4-668f.