CVE-2017-12972: Nimbus jose jwt Nimbus JOSE+JWT Missing Overflow Check Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2qp9-wg27-9pcv
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-345
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-12972 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) nimbus jose+jwt missing overflow check vulnerability (CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) affecting Nimbus jose jwt libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves nimbus jose+jwt missing overflow check. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.39.

CVE-2017-12972 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-12972
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2qp9-wg27-9pcv
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
Affected Product Nimbus jose jwt
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2017-12972

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nimbus jose jwt dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt fixed: 4.39 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.nimbusds</groupId>
    <artifactId>nimbus-jose-jwt</artifactId>
    <version>4.39</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.nimbusds

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2017-12972, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.nimbusds

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nimbus jose jwt in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.39), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.nimbusds command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity, where the product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data. In Nimbus jose jwt, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In Nimbus JOSE+JWT before 4.39, there is no integer-overflow check when converting length values from bytes to bits, which allows attackers to conduct HMAC bypass attacks by shifting Additional Authenticated Data (AAD) and ciphertext so that different plaintext is obtained for the same HMAC.

CVE-2017-12972 Affected Nimbus jose jwt Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.39
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt
maven/com.nimbusds/nimbus-jose-jwt
Maven
< 4.39
4.39

References

NVD — CVE-2017-12972 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12972
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/commits/0d2bd649ea386539220d4facfe1f65eb1dadb86c
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/issues/224/byte-to-bit-overflow-in-cbc
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/src/master/CHANGELOG.txt
lists.apache.org/thread.html/9317fd0... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9317fd092b257a0815434b116a8af8daea6e920b6673f4fd5583d5fe@%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-12972?
CVE-2017-12972 is a security vulnerability in Nimbus jose jwt involving Nimbus JOSE+JWT missing overflow check under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity.
Which Nimbus jose jwt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.39 across affected packages: com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt.
What version fixes CVE-2017-12972?
Upgrading to 4.39 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nimbus-jose-jwt affected?
Yes, com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt is affected in releases prior to 4.39. Upgrade your dependency to 4.39 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-12972?
CVE-2017-12972 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-12972?
CVE-2017-12972 is classified under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity (The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2017-12972?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=com.nimbusds'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-2qp9-wg27-9pcv",
  "modified" : "2022-11-08T22:28:09Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:30:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-12972" ],
  "summary" : "Nimbus JOSE+JWT missing overflow check",
  "details" : "In Nimbus JOSE+JWT before 4.39, there is no integer-overflow check when converting length values from bytes to bits, which allows attackers to conduct HMAC bypass attacks by shifting Additional Authenticated Data (AAD) and ciphertext so that different plaintext is obtained for the same HMAC.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.39"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12972"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/commits/0d2bd649ea386539220d4facfe1f65eb1dadb86c"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/issues/224/byte-to-bit-overflow-in-cbc"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/src/master/CHANGELOG.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9317fd092b257a0815434b116a8af8daea6e920b6673f4fd5583d5fe@%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-345" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-11-08T22:28:09Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-08-20T16:29:00Z"
  }
}