#VU23960 Use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm in hostapd and wpa_supplicant - CVE-2019-9495

Vulnerability identifier: #VU23960

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2019-9495

CWE-ID: CWE-327

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
hostapd
Server applications / Remote access servers, VPN
wpa_supplicant
Server applications / Encryption software

Vendor: Jouni Malinen

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to gain access to sensitive information on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to the implementations of EAP-PWD are vulnerable to side-channel attacks as a result of cache access patterns. A remote attacker with ability to install and execute applications can crack weak passwords when memory access patterns are visible in a shared cache.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

hostapd: 1.0 - 2.7

wpa_supplicant: 1.0 - 2.7

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External links
https://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152914/FreeBSD-Security-Advisory-FreeBSD-SA-19-03.wpa.html
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/56OBBOJJSKRTDGEXZOVFSTP4HDSDBLAE/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/SVMJOFEYBGXZLFF5IOLW67SSOPKFEJP3/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TDOZGR3T7FVO5JSZWK2QPR7AOFIEJTIZ/
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/May/40
https://security.FreeBSD.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-19:03.wpa.asc
https://w1.fi/security/2019-2/
https://www.synology.com/security/advisory/Synology_SA_19_16

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.