CVE-2021-29443

MEDIUM
Published Apr 16, 20215y ago · Modified Jun 22, 20261w ago
5.9 CVSS 3.1
Medium
Find Similar
Published Apr 16, 2021 5y ago
Last Modified Jun 22, 2026 1w ago

Description

jose is an npm library providing a number of cryptographic operations. In vulnerable versions AES_CBC_HMAC_SHA2 Algorithm (A128CBC-HS256, A192CBC-HS384, A256CBC-HS512) decryption would always execute both HMAC tag verification and CBC decryption, if either failed `JWEDecryptionFailed` would be thrown. A possibly observable difference in timing when padding error would occur while decrypting the ciphertext makes a padding oracle and an adversary might be able to make use of that oracle to decrypt data without knowing the decryption key by issuing on average 128*b calls to the padding oracle (where b is the number of bytes in the ciphertext block). All major release versions have had a patch released which ensures the HMAC tag is verified before performing CBC decryption. The fixed versions are `^1.28.1 || ^2.0.5 || >=3.11.4`. Users should upgrade their v1.x dependency to ^1.28.1, their v2.x dependency to ^2.0.5, and their v3.x dependency to ^3.11.4. Thanks to Jason from Microsoft Vulnerability Research (MSVR) for bringing this up and Eva Sarafianou (@esarafianou) for helping to score this advisory.

CVSS Details

Base Score
5.9
Exploitability
2.2
Impact
3.6
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity High
Privileges Required None
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality High
Integrity None
Availability None

Threat Intelligence

No active exploitation signals — not in CISA KEV and no EPSS score yet.

Exploit & Patch Status
No Known Exploit
Patch Available

Weaknesses 1

CWE-203

Affected Products 3

VendorProductVersionRange
panvajose*≥1.0.0  –  <1.28.1
panvajose*≥2.0.0  –  <2.0.5
panvajose*≥3.0.0  –  <3.11.4

References 2

  • github.com https://github.com/panva/jose/security/advisories/GHSA-58f5-hfqc-jgch
    PatchThird Party Advisory
  • npmjs.com https://www.npmjs.com/package/jose
    Third Party Advisory

Remediation

  • github.com https://github.com/panva/jose/security/advisories/GHSA-58f5-hfqc-jgch
    PatchThird Party Advisory