#VU78975 Use of uninitialized resource in NTPsec - CVE-2023-4012

Vulnerability identifier: #VU78975

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 6.6 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-4012

CWE-ID: CWE-908

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
NTPsec
Client/Desktop applications / Encryption software

Vendor: The NTPsec project

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

The vulnerability exists due to usage of uninitialized resources in ntpd/nts_cookie.c when processing NTS requests in a server with disabled NTS support. A remote attacker can send an NTS-enabled client request (mode 3) to the server and perform a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

NTPsec: 1.0.0 - 1.2.2

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External links
https://gitlab.com/NTPsec/ntpsec/-/issues/794

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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.