CVE-2019-1551: rsaz_512_sqr overflow bug on x86_64

Published Dec 6, 2019
·
Updated

An integer overflow was found in the x6464 Montgomery squaring procedure used in exponentiation with 512-bit moduli. As per upstream: No EC algorithms are affected. Attacks against 2-prime RSA1024, 3-prime RSA1536, and DSA1024 as a result of this defect would be very difficult to perform and are not believed likely. Attacks against DH512 are considered just feasible. However, for an attack the target would have to re-use the DH512 private key, which is not recommended anyway. Also applications directly using the low level API BNmodexp may be affected if they use BNFLGCONSTTIME

Other sources

As per openssl upstream advisory:

There is an overflow bug in the x6464 Montgomery squaring procedure used in exponentiation with 512-bit moduli. No EC algorithms are affected. Analysis suggests that attacks against 2-prime RSA1024, 3-prime RSA1536, and DSA1024 as a result of this defect would be very difficult to perform and are not believed likely. Attacks against DH512 are considered just feasible. However, for an attack the target would have to re-use the DH512 private key, which is not recommended anyway. Also applications directly using the low level API BNmodexp may be affected if they use BNFLGCONSTTIME.

OpenSSL versions 1.1.1 and 1.0.2 are affected by this issue. However due to the low severity of this issue we are not creating new releases at this time. The 1.1.1 mitigation for this issue can be found in commit 419102400. The 1.0.2 mitigation for this issue can be found in commit f1c5eea8a.

Red Hat

OpenSSL could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by an overflow in the x6464 Montgomery squaring procedure used in exponentiation with 512-bit moduli. By performing a man-in-the-middle attack, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information.

IBM

There is an overflow bug in the x6464 Montgomery squaring procedure used in exponentiation with 512-bit moduli. No EC algorithms are affected. Analysis suggests that attacks against 2-prime RSA1024, 3-prime RSA1536, and DSA1024 as a result of this defect would be very difficult to perform and are not believed likely. Attacks against DH512 are considered just feasible. However, for an attack the target would have to re-use the DH512 private key, which is not recommended anyway. Also applications directly using the low level API BNmodexp may be affected if they use BNFLGCONSTTIME. Fixed in OpenSSL 1.1.1e (Affected 1.1.1-1.1.1d). Fixed in OpenSSL 1.0.2u (Affected 1.0.2-1.0.2t).

Affected Software

40 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apr<0:1.6.3-104.jbcs.el6
0:1.6.3-104.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apr-util<0:1.6.1-75.jbcs.el6
0:1.6.1-75.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-brotli<0:1.0.6-38.jbcs.el6
0:1.0.6-38.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-curl<0:7.64.1-44.jbcs.el6
0:7.64.1-44.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-httpd<0:2.4.37-64.jbcs.el6
0:2.4.37-64.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-jansson<0:2.11-53.jbcs.el6
0:2.11-53.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-nghttp2<0:1.39.2-34.jbcs.el6
0:1.39.2-34.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-openssl<1:1.1.1c-32.jbcs.el6
1:1.1.1c-32.jbcs.el6
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apr<0:1.6.3-104.jbcs.el7
0:1.6.3-104.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-apr-util<0:1.6.1-75.jbcs.el7
0:1.6.1-75.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-brotli<0:1.0.6-38.jbcs.el7
0:1.0.6-38.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-curl<0:7.64.1-44.jbcs.el7
0:7.64.1-44.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-httpd<0:2.4.37-64.jbcs.el7
0:2.4.37-64.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-jansson<0:2.11-53.jbcs.el7
0:2.11-53.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-nghttp2<0:1.39.2-34.jbcs.el7
0:1.39.2-34.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-openssl<1:1.1.1c-32.jbcs.el7
1:1.1.1c-32.jbcs.el7
redhat/jbcs-httpd24-openssl-chil<0:1.0.0-1.jbcs.el7
0:1.0.0-1.jbcs.el7
redhat/openssl<1:1.1.1g-11.el8
1:1.1.1g-11.el8
debian/openssl<=1.1.1d-0+deb10u4, <=1.1.1d-2
1.1.1d-0+deb10u51.1.1e-1
IBM Security Verify Governance<=10.0
OpenSSL OpenSSL>=1.0.2<=1.0.2t
OpenSSL OpenSSL>=1.1.1<=1.1.1d
openSUSE Leap=15.1
Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center=12.4.0.0
Oracle MySQL Enterprise Monitor<=4.0.12
Oracle MySQL Enterprise Monitor>=8.0.0<=8.0.20
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools=8.56
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools=8.57
Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools=8.58
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=19.10
Fedoraproject Fedora=30
Fedoraproject Fedora=31
Fedoraproject Fedora=32
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
Debian Debian Linux=10.0
Tenable Log Correlation Engine<6.0.9
redhat/openssl<1.1.1
1.1.1
debian/openssl
1.1.1w-0+deb11u11.1.1w-0+deb11u73.0.20-1~deb12u13.0.20-1~deb12u23.5.6-1~deb13u13.5.6-1~deb13u23.6.2-13.6.3-1

Remediation

Information

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 512 bit DH is already disabled. As this bug is about leakage of the private key to the attacker, it should be fully sufficient to just not use 1024 bit RSA keys or 1024 bit DSA keys. These keys are not secure enough anyway. 3-prime RSA keys are not supported on RHEL-7. For Red Hat Enterprise 8, The DEFAULT crypto policy already disables all these key sizes. Also applications compiled with openssl which use the low level API BN_mod_exp may be affected if they use BN_FLG_CONSTTIME, other users of this API are not affected by this flaw.

Event History

Dec 6, 2019
CVE Published
12:00 AM
CVE Published
via MITRE·05:20 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·05:20 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Dec 9, 2019
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·03:55 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Feb 23, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·02:43 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·02:43 PM
Description
Jun 14, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·01:24 AM
DescriptionAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2019-1551?

CVE-2019-1551 has a high severity rating due to the potential for critical integer overflows in cryptographic operations.

2

How do I fix CVE-2019-1551?

To fix CVE-2019-1551, update to the appropriate patched versions of the affected packages listed in the vulnerability details.

3

What software is affected by CVE-2019-1551?

CVE-2019-1551 affects several packages including jbcs-httpd24-apr, jbcs-httpd24-apr-util, and jbcs-httpd24-openssl across various Red Hat versions.

4

What types of attacks are possible due to CVE-2019-1551?

Although attacks exploiting CVE-2019-1551 are difficult, it can potentially facilitate attacks on RSA and DSA cryptography.

5

How can I determine if my systems are vulnerable to CVE-2019-1551?

Check the version of OpenSSL and associated packages on your systems against the versions listed as vulnerable in CVE-2019-1551.

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