CVE-2023-38201

Keylime registrar and (untrusted) Agent can be bypassed by an attacker

A security issue was found in the Keylime registrar code which allows an attacker to effectively bypass the challenge-response protocol used to verify that an agent has indeed access to an AIK which in indeed related to the EK.

When an agent starts up, it will contact a registrar and provide a public EK and public AIK, in addition to the EK Certificate. This registrar will then challenge the agent to decrypt a challenge encrypted with the EK.

When receiving the wrong "auth_tag" back from the agent during activation, the registrar answers with an error message that contains the expected correct "auth_tag" (an HMAC which is calculated within the registrar for checking). An attacker could simply record the correct expected "auth_tag" from the HTTP error message and perform the activate call again with the correct expected "auth_tag" for the agent.

The security issue allows an attacker to pass the challenge-response protocol during registration with (almost) arbitrary registration data. In particular, the attacker can provide a valid EK Certificate and EK, which passes verification by the tenant (or registrar), while using a compromised AIK, which is stored unprotected outside the TPM and is unrelated to former two. The attacker then deliberately fails the initial activation call to get to know the correct "auth_tag" and then provides it in a subsequent activation call. This results in an agent which is (incorrectly) registered with a valid EK Certificate, but with a compromised/unrelated AIK.

CVE-2023-38201 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (High). The vector is reachable from an adjacent network, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (7.5.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Users should upgrade to release 7.5.0

1. What is CVE-2023-38201? CVE-2023-38201 is a high-severity security vulnerability in keylime (pip), affecting versions < 7.5.0. It is fixed in 7.5.0.
2. How severe is CVE-2023-38201? CVE-2023-38201 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of keylime are affected by CVE-2023-38201? keylime (pip) versions < 7.5.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2023-38201? Yes. CVE-2023-38201 is fixed in 7.5.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2023-38201 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-38201 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2023-38201 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2023-38201? Upgrade keylime to 7.5.0 or later.