CVE-2024-48948: Elliptic Valid ECDSA Signatures Erroneously Rejected Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747
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CVSS 4.8
CWE-347
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-48948 is a LOW (CVSS 4.8) valid ecdsa signatures erroneously rejected vulnerability (CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature) affecting Elliptic libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves valid ecdsa signatures erroneously rejected in elliptic. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.6.0.

CVE-2024-48948 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-48948
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.8
CWE Classification CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature
Affected Product Elliptic
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L).

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

How to Fix CVE-2024-48948

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

elliptic fixed: 6.6.0 
npm install elliptic@6.6.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

npm ls elliptic

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2024-48948, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls elliptic

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Elliptic in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.6.0), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls elliptic command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature, where the product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data. In Elliptic, 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

The Elliptic prior to 6.6.0 for Node.js, in its for ECDSA implementation, does not correctly verify valid signatures if the hash contains at least four leading 0 bytes and when the order of the elliptic curve's base point is smaller than the hash, because of an _truncateToN anomaly. This leads to valid signatures being rejected. Legitimate transactions or communications may be incorrectly flagged as invalid.

CVE-2024-48948 Affected Elliptic Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.6.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
elliptic
npm/elliptic
npm
< 6.6.0
6.6.0

References

NVD — CVE-2024-48948 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-48948
Elliptic Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/issues/321
Elliptic Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/pull/322
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/34c853478cec1be4e37260ed2cb12cdbdc6402cf
blog.trailofbits.com/2025/11/18/we-found... WEB
https://blog.trailofbits.com/2025/11/18/we-found-cryptography-bugs-in-the-elliptic-library-using-wycheproof
Elliptic Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic
Elliptic Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241220-0004

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-48948?
CVE-2024-48948 is a security vulnerability in Elliptic involving Valid ECDSA signatures erroneously rejected in Elliptic under CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature.
Which Elliptic versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.6.0 across affected packages: elliptic.
What version fixes CVE-2024-48948?
Upgrading to 6.6.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is elliptic affected?
Yes, elliptic is affected in releases prior to 6.6.0. Upgrade your dependency to 6.6.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-48948?
CVE-2024-48948 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.8 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-48948?
CVE-2024-48948 is classified under CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature (The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2024-48948?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls elliptic'. 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-fc9h-whq2-v747",
  "modified" : "2025-11-27T08:43:15Z",
  "published" : "2024-10-15T15:30:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-48948" ],
  "summary" : "Valid ECDSA signatures erroneously rejected in Elliptic",
  "details" : "The Elliptic prior to 6.6.0 for Node.js, in its for ECDSA implementation, does not correctly verify valid signatures if the hash contains at least four leading 0 bytes and when the order of the elliptic curve's base point is smaller than the hash, because of an _truncateToN anomaly. This leads to valid signatures being rejected. Legitimate transactions or communications may be incorrectly flagged as invalid.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "elliptic"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.6.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-48948"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/issues/321"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/pull/322"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/34c853478cec1be4e37260ed2cb12cdbdc6402cf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://blog.trailofbits.com/2025/11/18/we-found-cryptography-bugs-in-the-elliptic-library-using-wycheproof"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241220-0004"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-347" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-10-17T22:05:18Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-10-15T14:15:05Z"
  }
}