Vulnerabilities in pkg:npm/keypair
PACKAGECVE-2021-41117 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.7) insecure random number generation vulnerability (CWE-335: Incorrect Usage of Seeds in Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG)) affecting Keypair libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves insecure random number generation in keypair. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.0.4.
pkg:npm/keypair
Vulnerability advisories affecting package pkg:npm/keypair. Select an advisory below to view technical details or fixes.
| Advisory ID | CVE / NVD | Severity | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| GHSA-3f99-hvg4-qjwj | CVE-2021-41117 | HIGH | Insecure random number generation in keypair |
CVE-2021-41117 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 8.7
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:C/C:H/I:H/A:N).
How to Fix CVE-2021-41117
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Keypair dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
npm install keypair@1.0.4
Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
npm ls keypair
How to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-41117, inspect your project dependencies using npm:
npm ls keypair
Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Keypair 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: The npm ls keypair 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-335: Incorrect Usage of Seeds in Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG), where the product uses a pseudo-random number generator (prng) but does not correctly manage seeds. In Keypair, 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
CVE-2021-41117 Affected Keypair Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
keypair
|
npm |
< 1.0.4
|
1.0.4
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2021-41117?
Which Keypair versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2021-41117?
Is keypair affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41117?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41117?
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-41117?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-3f99-hvg4-qjwj",
"modified" : "2021-10-11T18:36:36Z",
"published" : "2021-10-11T17:09:05Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41117" ],
"summary" : "Insecure random number generation in keypair",
"details" : "## Description and Impact\n\nA bug in the pseudo-random number generator used by [keypair](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair) versions up to and including 1.0.3 could allow for weak RSA key generation. This could enable an attacker to decrypt confidential messages or gain authorized access to an account belonging to the victim. We recommend replacing any RSA keys that were generated using keypair version 1.0.3 or earlier.\n\n## Fix\n\n* The [bug](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/blob/87c62f255baa12c1ec4f98a91600f82af80be6db/index.js#L1008) in the pseudo-random number generator is fixed in commit [`9596418`](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/commit/9596418d3363d3e757676c0b6a8f2d35a9d1cb18).\n* If the crypto module is available, it is used instead of the pseudo-random number generator. Also fixed in [`9596418`](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/commit/9596418d3363d3e757676c0b6a8f2d35a9d1cb18)\n\n## Additional Details\n\nThe specific [line](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/blob/87c62f255baa12c1ec4f98a91600f82af80be6db/index.js#L1008) with the flaw is:\n\n```javascript\nb.putByte(String.fromCharCode(next & 0xFF))\n```\n\nThe [definition](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/blob/87c62f255baa12c1ec4f98a91600f82af80be6db/index.js#L350-L352) of `putByte` is \n\n```javascript\nutil.ByteBuffer.prototype.putByte = function(b) {\n this.data += String.fromCharCode(b);\n};\n```\n\nSimplified, this is `String.fromCharCode(String.fromCharCode(next & 0xFF))`. This results in most of the buffer containing zeros. An example generated buffer:\n\n(Note: truncated for brevity)\n\n```\n\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\n\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\n\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x04\\x00\\x00\\x00....\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\n\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\n\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x00\n```\n\nSince it is masking with 0xFF, approximately 97% of the bytes are converted to zeros. The impact is that each byte in the RNG seed has a 97% chance of being 0 due to incorrect conversion.\n\n## Credit\n\nThis issue was reported to GitHub Security Lab by Ross Wheeler of Axosoft. It was discovered by Axosoft engineer Dan Suceava, who noticed that [keypair](https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair) was regularly generating duplicate RSA keys. GitHub security engineer [@vcsjones (Kevin Jones)](https://github.com/vcsjones) independently investigated the problem and identified the cause and source code location of the bug.",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "npm",
"name" : "keypair"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "1.0.4"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/security/advisories/GHSA-3f99-hvg4-qjwj"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41117"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/commit/9596418d3363d3e757676c0b6a8f2d35a9d1cb18"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/juliangruber/keypair/releases/tag/v1.0.4"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://securitylab.github.com/advisories/GHSL-2021-1012-keypair"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-335" ],
"severity" : "HIGH",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2021-10-11T17:06:03Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2021-10-11T17:15:00Z"
}
}