CVE-2024-42098 crypto: ecdh - explicitly zeroize private_key
An attacker with local access could potentially read residual private key material from memory due to incomplete zeroization in the Linux kernel ECDH implementation.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2024-42098?
CVE-2024-42098 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 29 Jul 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
crypto: ecdh - explicitly zeroize private_key
private_key is overwritten with the key parameter passed in by the caller (if present), or alternatively a newly generated private key. However, it is possible that the caller provides a key (or the newly generated key) which is shorter than the previous key. In that scenario, some key material from the previous key would not be overwritten. The easiest solution is to explicitly zeroize the entire private_key array first.
Note that this patch slightly changes the behavior of this function: previously, if the ecc_gen_privkey failed, the old private_key would remain. Now, the private_key is always zeroized. This behavior is consistent with the case where params.key is set and ecc_is_key_valid fails.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42098?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2024-42098?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2024-42098 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-42098 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2024-42098, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42098, GHSA-4794-rjc7-hpw2, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2024-42098, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42098.