CVE-2024-51491: Github.com/notaryproject/notation go Notation-go Has An OS Error Vulnerability

LOW
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qjh3-4j3h-vmwp
CVSS 3.3
CWE-703
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-51491 is a LOW (CVSS 3.3) notation-go has an os error vulnerability (CWE-703: Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions) affecting Github.com/notaryproject/notation go libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves notation-go has an os error when setting crl cache leads to denial of signature verification. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.3.0-rc.2.

CVE-2024-51491 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-51491
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qjh3-4j3h-vmwp
Severity LOW
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 3.3
CWE Classification CWE-703: Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions
Affected Product Github.com/notaryproject/notation go
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 3.3

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2024-51491

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

github.com/notaryproject/notation-go fixed: 1.3.0-rc.2
Upgrade github.com/notaryproject/notation-go to 1.3.0-rc.2
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 github.com/notaryproject/notation-go

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2024-51491, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/notaryproject/notation go:

inspect dependencies for github.com/notaryproject/notation-go

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/notaryproject/notation go in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.3.0-rc.2), 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-703: Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions, where the product does not properly anticipate or handle exceptional conditions that rarely occur during normal operation of the product. In Github.com/notaryproject/notation go, 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

### Summary The issue was identified during Quarkslab's security audit on the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) based revocation check feature. After retrieving the CRL, notation-go attempts to update the CRL cache using the os.Rename method. However, this operation may fail due to operating system-specific limitations, particularly when the source and destination paths are on different mount points. This failure could lead to an unexpected program termination. ### Details In method `crl.(*FileCache).Set`, a temporary file is created in the OS dedicated area (like /tmp for, usually, Linux/Unix). The file is written and then it is tried to move it to the dedicated `notation` cache directory thanks `os.Rename`. As specified in Go documentation, OS specific restriction may apply. When used with Linux OS, it is relying on `rename` syscall from the libc and as per the [documentation](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/rename.2.html), moving a file to a different mountpoint raises an `EXDEV` error, interpreted as `Cross device link not permitted error`. Some Linux distribution, like `RedHat` use a dedicated filesystem (`tmpfs`), mounted on a specific mountpoint (usually `/tmp`) for temporary files. When using such OS, revocation check based on CRL will repeatedly crash `notation`. ### PoC 1. Ensure that the temporary file storage area (e.g., /tmp) is mounted on a different mount point than the user's 'notation' cache directory. 2. Either disable the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) revocation check, or utilize certificates that exclusively support Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) for revocation check. 3. Try to verify a previously generated signature using the 'notation' tool. ### Impact The signature verification process is aborted as process crashes. ### Remediation The cache file should be created, written, then copied to the wanted final location, and finally removed. Additionally, this error shouldn't lead to a crash as it is not fatal and shouldn't prevent the rest of the program to properly continue

CVE-2024-51491 Affected Github.com/notaryproject/notation go Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.3.0-rc.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/notaryproject/notation-go
Go
≥ 1.3.0-rc.1
< 1.3.0-rc.2
All 1 versions
1.3.0-rc.1
1.3.0-rc.2

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-51491?
CVE-2024-51491 is a security vulnerability in Github.com/notaryproject/notation go involving notation-go has an OS error when setting CRL cache leads to denial of signature verification under CWE-703: Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions.
Which Github.com/notaryproject/notation go versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.3.0-rc.2 across affected packages: github.com/notaryproject/notation-go.
What version fixes CVE-2024-51491?
Upgrading to 1.3.0-rc.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/notaryproject/notation-go affected?
Yes, github.com/notaryproject/notation-go is affected in releases prior to 1.3.0-rc.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.3.0-rc.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-51491?
CVE-2024-51491 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 3.3 (LOW) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-51491?
CVE-2024-51491 is classified under CWE-703: Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions (The product does not properly anticipate or handle exceptional conditions that rarely occur during normal operation of the product.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2024-51491?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/notaryproject/notation-go'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-qjh3-4j3h-vmwp",
  "modified" : "2025-01-14T21:07:52Z",
  "published" : "2025-01-13T16:13:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-51491" ],
  "summary" : "notation-go has an OS error when setting CRL cache leads to denial of signature verification",
  "details" : "### Summary\nThe issue was identified during Quarkslab's security audit on the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) based revocation check feature.\nAfter retrieving the CRL, notation-go attempts to update the CRL cache using the os.Rename method. However, this operation may fail due to operating system-specific limitations, particularly when the source and destination paths are on different mount points. This failure could lead to an unexpected program termination.\n\n### Details\n\nIn method `crl.(*FileCache).Set`, a temporary file is created in the OS dedicated area (like /tmp for, usually, Linux/Unix). The file is written and then it is tried to move it to the dedicated `notation` cache directory thanks `os.Rename`. As specified in Go documentation, OS specific restriction may apply. When used with Linux OS, it is relying on `rename` syscall from the libc and as per the [documentation](https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/rename.2.html), moving a file to a different mountpoint raises an `EXDEV` error, interpreted as `Cross device link not permitted error`.\nSome Linux distribution, like `RedHat` use a dedicated filesystem (`tmpfs`), mounted on a specific mountpoint (usually `/tmp`) for temporary files. When using such OS, revocation check based on CRL will repeatedly crash `notation`. \n\n### PoC\n1. Ensure that the temporary file storage area (e.g., /tmp) is mounted on a different mount point than the user's 'notation' cache directory.\n2. Either disable the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) revocation check, or utilize certificates that exclusively support Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) for revocation check.\n3. Try to verify a previously generated signature using the 'notation' tool.\n\n### Impact\nThe signature verification process is aborted as process crashes.\n\n### Remediation\nThe cache file should be created, written, then copied to the wanted final location, and finally removed. Additionally, this error shouldn't lead to a crash as it is not fatal and shouldn't prevent the rest of the program to properly continue\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/notaryproject/notation-go"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.3.0-rc.1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.3.0-rc.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "1.3.0-rc.1" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/notaryproject/notation-go/security/advisories/GHSA-qjh3-4j3h-vmwp"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-51491"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/notaryproject/notation-go/commit/3c3302258ad510fbca2f8a73731569d91f07d196"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/notaryproject/notation-go"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man2/rename.2.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2025-3382"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-703" ],
    "severity" : "LOW",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-01-13T16:13:59Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-01-13T22:15:13Z"
  }
}