CVE-2024-21669

CVE-2024-21669 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in aries-cloudagent (pip), affecting versions >= 0.7.0, < 0.10.5. It is fixed in 0.10.5, 0.11.0.

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Runtime intelligence, not another scanner.

Summary

Hyperledger Aries Cloud Agent Python result of presentation verification not checked for LDP-VC

Workarounds

There is no workaround other upgrading to a patched/fixed version of ACA-Py.

Impact

When verifying W3C Format Verifiable Credentials using JSON-LD with Linked Data Proofs (LDP-VCs), the result of verifying the presentation document.proof was not factored into the final verified value (true/false) on the presentation record. Below is an example result from verifying a JSON-LD Presentation where there is an error noted in the processing (mismatched challenge), but the overall result is incorrectly "verified": true:

{
  "verified": true,
  "presentation_result": {
    "verified": false,
    "document": {
      "@context": [
        "https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"
      ],
      "type": [
        "VerifiablePresentation"
      ],
      "verifiableCredential": [
        {
          "@context": [
            "https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1",
            "https://w3id.org/citizenship/v1"
          ],
          "type": [
            "VerifiableCredential",
            "PermanentResident"
          ],
          "issuer": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd",
          "issuanceDate": "2023-11-18",
          "credentialSubject": {
            "type": [
              "PermanentResident"
            ],
            "id": "did:key:z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C",
            "givenName": "Bob",
            "familyName": "Builder",
            "gender": "Male",
            "birthCountry": "Bahamas",
            "birthDate": "1958-07-17"
          },
          "proof": {
            "type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
            "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod",
            "verificationMethod": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1",
            "created": "2023-11-18T21:39:56.988853+00:00",
            "jws": "eyJhbGciOiAiRWREU0EiLCAiYjY0IjogZmFsc2UsICJjcml0IjogWyJiNjQiXX0..eKdLMhKJkiVNzTKOEv14KyAFJnk8QX5MqXPmRE5OjQvwRNkeXk1lQRovhDhXKw154OrSqLHgfSNwBd3xfwuDCA"
          }
        }
      ],
      "proof": {
        "type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
        "proofPurpose": "authentication",
        "verificationMethod": "did:key:z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C#z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C",
        "created": "2023-11-18T21:39:59.188276+00:00",
        "challenge": "ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d",
        "jws": "eyJhbGciOiAiRWREU0EiLCAiYjY0IjogZmFsc2UsICJjcml0IjogWyJiNjQiXX0..4ciLzT3oF-Ch9nngGVgI_fBNIo_RPPXzRuFXjMx4AdwVNM4ioeB3TNDbHsF7fPXANznkZR0bHceyvMN3-CUSAw"
      }
    },
    "results": [
      {
        "verified": false,
        "proof": {
          "@context": [
            "https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1"
          ],
          "type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
          "proofPurpose": "authentication",
          "verificationMethod": "did:key:z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C#z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C",
          "created": "2023-11-18T21:39:59.188276+00:00",
          "challenge": "ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d",
          "jws": "eyJhbGciOiAiRWREU0EiLCAiYjY0IjogZmFsc2UsICJjcml0IjogWyJiNjQiXX0..4ciLzT3oF-Ch9nngGVgI_fBNIo_RPPXzRuFXjMx4AdwVNM4ioeB3TNDbHsF7fPXANznkZR0bHceyvMN3-CUSAw"
        },
        "error": "The challenge is not as expected; challenge=ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d, expected=328daf6e-f1f5-475a-944e-6446e7b3a969",
        "purpose_result": {
          "valid": false,
          "error": "The challenge is not as expected; challenge=ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d, expected=328daf6e-f1f5-475a-944e-6446e7b3a969"
        }
      }
    ],
    "errors": [
      "The challenge is not as expected; challenge=ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d, expected=328daf6e-f1f5-475a-944e-6446e7b3a969"
    ]
  },
  "credential_results": [
    {
      "verified": true,
      "document": {
        "@context": [
          "https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1",
          "https://w3id.org/citizenship/v1"
        ],
        "type": [
          "VerifiableCredential",
          "PermanentResident"
        ],
        "issuer": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd",
        "issuanceDate": "2023-11-18",
        "credentialSubject": {
          "type": [
            "PermanentResident"
          ],
          "id": "did:key:z6MkrpbudRMUpTWSdqFcG2ytbYu2QQfgGFUf8GJpShR8Gy7C",
          "givenName": "Bob",
          "familyName": "Builder",
          "gender": "Male",
          "birthCountry": "Bahamas",
          "birthDate": "1958-07-17"
        },
        "proof": {
          "type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
          "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod",
          "verificationMethod": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1",
          "created": "2023-11-18T21:39:56.988853+00:00",
          "jws": "eyJhbGciOiAiRWREU0EiLCAiYjY0IjogZmFsc2UsICJjcml0IjogWyJiNjQiXX0..eKdLMhKJkiVNzTKOEv14KyAFJnk8QX5MqXPmRE5OjQvwRNkeXk1lQRovhDhXKw154OrSqLHgfSNwBd3xfwuDCA"
        }
      },
      "results": [
        {
          "verified": true,
          "proof": {
            "@context": [
              "https://www.w3.org/2018/credentials/v1",
              "https://w3id.org/citizenship/v1"
            ],
            "type": "Ed25519Signature2018",
            "proofPurpose": "assertionMethod",
            "verificationMethod": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1",
            "created": "2023-11-18T21:39:56.988853+00:00",
            "jws": "eyJhbGciOiAiRWREU0EiLCAiYjY0IjogZmFsc2UsICJjcml0IjogWyJiNjQiXX0..eKdLMhKJkiVNzTKOEv14KyAFJnk8QX5MqXPmRE5OjQvwRNkeXk1lQRovhDhXKw154OrSqLHgfSNwBd3xfwuDCA"
          },
          "purpose_result": {
            "valid": true,
            "controller": {
              "@context": "https://w3id.org/security/v2",
              "id": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd",
              "assertionMethod": [
                "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1"
              ],
              "authentication": [
                {
                  "id": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1",
                  "type": "Ed25519VerificationKey2018",
                  "controller": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd",
                  "publicKeyBase58": "8dMkWKZxsK7vS8sR4XgS7gWvRawPp5TMYVFvnU2RyXqo"
                }
              ],
              "verificationMethod": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#key-1",
              "https://www.w3.org/ns/did#service": {
                "id": "did:sov:EzcfrVw7Tveho5NjrmDWnd#did-communication",
                "type": "did-communication",
                "https://www.w3.org/ns/did#serviceEndpoint": {
                  "id": "http://alice:3000"
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "errors": [
    "The challenge is not as expected; challenge=ce0956d4-206d-4b69-a087-52bbb9ddaf1d, expected=328daf6e-f1f5-475a-944e-6446e7b3a969"
  ]
}

The flaw enables holders of W3C Format Verifiable Credentials using JSON-LD with Linked Data Proofs (LDPs) to present incorrectly constructed proofs, and allows malicious verifiers to save and replay a presentation from such holders as their own.

This vulnerability has been present since the first implementation of support for JSON-LD W3C Verifiable Credential Data Model presentations, in Aries Cloud Agent Python release in 0.7.0.

All ACA-Py Users depending on W3C Format Verifiable Credentials using JSON-LD with Linked Data Proofs are impacted by this vulnerability.

CVE-2024-21669 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (0.10.5, 0.11.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

aries-cloudagent (>= 0.7.0, < 0.10.5) aries-cloudagent (>= 0.11.0rc1, < 0.11.0)

Security releases

aries-cloudagent → 0.10.5 (pip) aries-cloudagent → 0.11.0 (pip)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

This issue has been patched in version 0.10.5 and fixed in 0.11.0.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2024-21669? CVE-2024-21669 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in aries-cloudagent (pip), affecting versions >= 0.7.0, < 0.10.5. It is fixed in 0.10.5, 0.11.0.
  2. How severe is CVE-2024-21669? CVE-2024-21669 has a CVSS score of 9.9 (Critical). 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 aries-cloudagent are affected by CVE-2024-21669? aries-cloudagent (pip) versions >= 0.7.0, < 0.10.5 is affected.
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-21669? Yes. CVE-2024-21669 is fixed in 0.10.5, 0.11.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2024-21669 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-21669 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-2024-21669 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-2024-21669?
    • Upgrade aries-cloudagent to 0.10.5 or later
    • Upgrade aries-cloudagent to 0.11.0 or later

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