> From: openssl-users [mailto:openssl-users-boun...@openssl.org] On Behalf Of
> Sam Roberts
> Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2019 11:33
>
> Even though this is fixed, would the general advice still be "avoid
> CBC in favour of AESCCM and AESGCM when using TLS1.2"? Or update to
> TLS1.3.

The general advice is to avoid CBC mode where possible, full stop. Too many 
deployed implementations are still vulnerable to one form or another of 
padding-oracle attacks. Unless you control both ends of the conversation, you 
can't guarantee the peer isn't vulnerable.

Frankly, this latest vulnerability in OpenSSL 1.0.2 feels pretty minor in that 
regard, since it depends on two different (if related) behaviors by the 
application to be vulnerable. The application has to incorrectly attempt a 
second SSL_shutdown if the first one fails (it should only do the second if the 
first succeeds), and it has to have different behavior that's visible to the 
attacker for the two cases, in order to be a useful oracle. AND it has to be 
using a non-stitched implementation of a vulnerable cipher.

It's a relatively narrow branch of the attack tree.

--
Michael Wojcik
Distinguished Engineer, Micro Focus



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