CVE-2024-42460: Elliptic Elliptic's ECDSA Missing Check For Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-977x-g7h5-7qgw
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-130
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-42460 is a LOW (CVSS 5.3) elliptic's ecdsa missing check for vulnerability (CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency) affecting Elliptic libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves elliptic's ecdsa missing check for whether leading bit of r and s is zero. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.5.7.

CVE-2024-42460 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-42460
GHSA Identifier GHSA-977x-g7h5-7qgw
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency
Affected Product Elliptic
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 Low (C:L)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2024-42460

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: 6.5.7 
npm install elliptic@6.5.7
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-2024-42460, 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 6.5.7), 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-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency, where the product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated 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

In the Elliptic package 6.5.6 for Node.js, ECDSA signature malleability occurs because there is a missing check for whether the leading bit of r and s is zero.

CVE-2024-42460 Affected Elliptic Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.5.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
elliptic
npm/elliptic
npm
≥ 2.0.0
< 6.5.7
6.5.7

References

NVD — CVE-2024-42460 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42460
Elliptic Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/pull/317
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/accb61e9c1a005e5c8ff96a8b33893100bb42d11
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/b6ff1758d9a6d1a7aec177ff6df9f586492a6315
Elliptic Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/indutny/elliptic
Elliptic Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241004-0005

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-42460?
CVE-2024-42460 is a security vulnerability in Elliptic involving Elliptic's ECDSA missing check for whether leading bit of r and s is zero under CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency.
Which Elliptic versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.5.7 across affected packages: elliptic.
What version fixes CVE-2024-42460?
Upgrading to 6.5.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is elliptic affected?
Yes, elliptic is affected in releases prior to 6.5.7. Upgrade your dependency to 6.5.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-42460?
CVE-2024-42460 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-42460?
CVE-2024-42460 is classified under CWE-130: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency (The product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2024-42460?
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-977x-g7h5-7qgw",
  "modified" : "2025-11-04T16:52:43Z",
  "published" : "2024-08-02T09:31:35Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-42460" ],
  "summary" : "Elliptic's ECDSA missing check for whether leading bit of r and s is zero",
  "details" : "In the Elliptic package 6.5.6 for Node.js, ECDSA signature malleability occurs because there is a missing check for whether the leading bit of r and s is zero.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "elliptic"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.5.7"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 6.5.6"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42460"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/pull/317"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/accb61e9c1a005e5c8ff96a8b33893100bb42d11"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic/commit/b6ff1758d9a6d1a7aec177ff6df9f586492a6315"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/indutny/elliptic"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241004-0005"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-130" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-08-05T13:51:05Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-08-02T07:16:10Z"
  }
}