CVE-2019-11841 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

A vulnerability related to message forgery has been identified in the supplementary Go cryptography libraries.

Understanding CVE-2019-11841

A vulnerability in the Go cryptography libraries allows attackers to manipulate message digest algorithms, potentially misleading recipients.

What is CVE-2019-11841?

The vulnerability in the Go clearsign package enables attackers to falsify Hash Armor Headers, leading to potential message digest algorithm misrepresentation.

The Impact of CVE-2019-11841

Attackers can mislead recipients into believing a signature was generated using a different message digest algorithm.
Arbitrary Armor Headers can be inserted, and random text can be prepended to cleartext messages without invalidating signatures.

Technical Details of CVE-2019-11841

The technical aspects of the vulnerability in the Go cryptography libraries.

Vulnerability Description

Vulnerability in the clearsign.go file of the crypto/openpgp/clearsign package.
Failure to consider the value of Hash Armor Headers allows for falsification by attackers.

Affected Systems and Versions

Vendor: n/a
Product: n/a
Affected Version: n/a

Exploitation Mechanism

Lack of Armor Header parsing in the library enables attackers to manipulate message digest algorithms and insert arbitrary headers.

Mitigation and Prevention

Steps to mitigate and prevent exploitation of CVE-2019-11841.

Immediate Steps to Take

Update affected systems with the latest security patches.
Monitor for any suspicious activities related to message manipulation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement secure coding practices to prevent similar vulnerabilities.
Regularly review and update cryptographic libraries to address known issues.

Patching and Updates

Apply security updates provided by the Go cryptography libraries to address the vulnerability.