#VU71182 Use of a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm in node-jsonwebtoken - CVE-2022-23540

Vulnerability identifier: #VU71182

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-23540

CWE-ID: CWE-327

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
node-jsonwebtoken
Web applications / JS libraries

Vendor: auth0 on WordPress

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to compromise the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to insecure default algorithm in jwt.verify(). A remote attacker can cause signature validation bypass.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

node-jsonwebtoken: 8.0.0 - 8.5.1

---

External links
https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/security/advisories/GHSA-qwph-4952-7xr6
https://github.com/auth0/node-jsonwebtoken/commit/e1fa9dcc12054a8681db4e6373da1b30cf7016e3

---

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. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.