CVE-2024-44910
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2024-44910 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in NASA CryptoLib v1.3.0's AOS subsystem that could allow attackers to read sensitive memory contents or cause denial of service. This affects any systems or applications using the vulnerable CryptoLib version for cryptographic operations. The vulnerability is present in the default configuration of affected versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- NASA CryptoLib
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Information disclosure of sensitive cryptographic keys or memory contents leading to complete system compromise, or denial of service causing application/system crashes.
Likely Case
Application crashes or denial of service through memory corruption, potentially exposing limited memory contents.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper memory protection mechanisms and isolation, though crashes may still occur.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of the AOS subsystem and ability to trigger specific conditions. The GitHub issue includes technical details that could aid exploitation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Check GitHub repository for latest version (likely v1.3.1 or later)
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/nasa/CryptoLib/issues/268
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check current CryptoLib version. 2. Update to latest version from GitHub repository. 3. Recompile any applications using CryptoLib. 4. Restart affected services/applications.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable AOS subsystem
allIf AOS functionality is not required, disable or remove references to crypto_aos.c in your implementation
Modify source code to exclude AOS subsystem usage
Recompile without AOS support
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation and bounds checking for all CryptoLib function calls
- Isolate CryptoLib usage in sandboxed or containerized environments to limit potential impact
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if your application uses NASA CryptoLib v1.3.0 and calls functions from crypto_aos.cCheck Version:
Check build configuration or source code for CryptoLib version referencesVerify Fix Applied:
Verify CryptoLib version is updated beyond v1.3.0 and test AOS functionality📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes with memory access violations
- Unexpected termination of services using CryptoLib
Network Indicators:
- Unusual patterns in cryptographic protocol failures
SIEM Query:
Search for process crashes related to cryptographic operations or memory access violations in applications using CryptoLib