CVE-2017-12974: Nimbus jose jwt Improper Verification Of Cryptographic Signature Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-pfv2-37f7-9m6w
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-347
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-12974 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) improper verification of cryptographic signature vulnerability (CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature) affecting Nimbus jose jwt libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper verification of cryptographic signature in nimbus jose+jwt. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.36.

CVE-2017-12974 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-12974
GHSA Identifier GHSA-pfv2-37f7-9m6w
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature
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:H/I:N/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 None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2017-12974

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: 4.36 
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.nimbusds</groupId>
    <artifactId>nimbus-jose-jwt</artifactId>
    <version>4.36</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-2017-12974, 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 4.36), 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-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature, where the product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for 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

Nimbus JOSE+JWT before 4.36 proceeds with ECKey construction without ensuring that the public x and y coordinates are on the specified curve, which allows attackers to conduct an Invalid Curve Attack in environments where the JCE provider lacks the applicable curve validation.

CVE-2017-12974 Affected Nimbus jose jwt Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.36
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt
maven/com.nimbusds/nimbus-jose-jwt
Maven
< 4.36
4.36

References

NVD — CVE-2017-12974 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12974
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/commits/f3a7a801f0c6b078899fed9226368eb7b44e2b2f
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/issues/217/explicit-check-for-ec-public-key-on-curve
bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-j... WEB
https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/src/master/CHANGELOG.txt
Nimbus jose jwt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/felx/nimbus-jose-jwt
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-2017-12974?
CVE-2017-12974 is a security vulnerability in Nimbus jose jwt involving Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature in Nimbus JOSE+JWT under CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature.
Which Nimbus jose jwt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.36 across affected packages: com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt.
What version fixes CVE-2017-12974?
Upgrading to 4.36 (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 4.36. Upgrade your dependency to 4.36 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-12974?
CVE-2017-12974 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:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-12974?
CVE-2017-12974 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 Maven dependencies for CVE-2017-12974?
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-pfv2-37f7-9m6w",
  "modified" : "2022-07-01T20:20:30Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:30:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-12974" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature in Nimbus JOSE+JWT",
  "details" : "Nimbus JOSE+JWT before 4.36 proceeds with ECKey construction without ensuring that the public x and y coordinates are on the specified curve, which allows attackers to conduct an Invalid Curve Attack in environments where the JCE provider lacks the applicable curve validation.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "com.nimbusds:nimbus-jose-jwt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.36"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12974"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/commits/f3a7a801f0c6b078899fed9226368eb7b44e2b2f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/issues/217/explicit-check-for-ec-public-key-on-curve"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bitbucket.org/connect2id/nimbus-jose-jwt/src/master/CHANGELOG.txt"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/felx/nimbus-jose-jwt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9317fd092b257a0815434b116a8af8daea6e920b6673f4fd5583d5fe@%3Ccommits.druid.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-347" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-01T20:20:30Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-08-20T16:29:00Z"
  }
}