CVE-2016-9121: Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 Elliptic Curve Key Disclosure Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-86r9-39j9-99wp
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CVSS 9.1
CWE-326
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-9121 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1) elliptic curve key disclosure vulnerability (CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength) affecting Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves elliptic curve key disclosure in go-jose. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.4.

CVE-2016-9121 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-9121
GHSA Identifier GHSA-86r9-39j9-99wp
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.1
CWE Classification CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength
Affected Product Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.1

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:H/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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2016-9121

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1 fixed: 1.0.4 
Upgrade gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1 to 1.0.4
github.com/square/go-jose fixed: 1.0.4 
Upgrade github.com/square/go-jose to 1.0.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2016-9121, inspect your project dependencies for Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1:

inspect dependencies for gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.0.4), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength, where the product stores or transmits sensitive data using an encryption scheme that is theoretically sound, but is not strong enough for the level of protection required. In Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1, 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

go-jose before 1.0.4 suffers from an invalid curve attack for the ECDH-ES algorithm. When deriving a shared key using ECDH-ES for an encrypted message, go-jose neglected to check that the received public key on a message is on the same curve as the static private key of the receiver, thus making it vulnerable to an invalid curve attack.

CVE-2016-9121 Affected Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.0.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1
golang/gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1
Go
< 1.0.4
1.0.4
github.com/square/go-jose
golang/github.com/square/go-jose
Go
< 1.0.4
1.0.4

References

NVD — CVE-2016-9121 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9121
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/square/go-jose/commit/c7581939a3656bb65e89d64da0a52364a33d2507
hackerone.com/reports/164590 WEB
https://hackerone.com/reports/164590
pkg.go.dev/vuln/go-2020-0010 WEB
https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2020-0010
Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 Security Information SECURITY
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/11/03/1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-9121?
CVE-2016-9121 is a security vulnerability in Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 involving Elliptic Curve Key Disclosure in go-jose under CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength.
Which Gopkg.in/square/go jose.v1 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.0.4 across affected packages: gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1, github.com/square/go-jose.
What version fixes CVE-2016-9121?
Upgrading to 1.0.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1 affected?
Yes, gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1 is affected in releases prior to 1.0.4. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.4 or later.
Is github.com/square/go-jose affected?
Yes, github.com/square/go-jose is affected in releases prior to 1.0.4. Upgrade your dependency to 1.0.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-9121?
CVE-2016-9121 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-9121?
CVE-2016-9121 is classified under CWE-326: Inadequate Encryption Strength (The product stores or transmits sensitive data using an encryption scheme that is theoretically sound, but is not strong enough for the level of protection required.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2016-9121?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1'. 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-86r9-39j9-99wp",
  "modified" : "2021-05-20T16:54:50Z",
  "published" : "2021-06-23T17:17:52Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-9121" ],
  "summary" : "Elliptic Curve Key Disclosure in go-jose",
  "details" : "go-jose before 1.0.4 suffers from an invalid curve attack for the ECDH-ES algorithm. When deriving a shared key using ECDH-ES for an encrypted message, go-jose neglected to check that the received public key on a message is on the same curve as the static private key of the receiver, thus making it vulnerable to an invalid curve attack.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "gopkg.in/square/go-jose.v1"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/square/go-jose"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.0.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9121"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/square/go-jose/commit/c7581939a3656bb65e89d64da0a52364a33d2507"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hackerone.com/reports/164590"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2020-0010"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/11/03/1"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-326" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-20T16:54:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}