CVE-2024-23656

CVE-2024-23656 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/dexidp/dex (go), affecting versions = 2.37.0. It is fixed in 2.38.0, 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254.

Summary

Dex 2.37.0 is serving HTTPS with insecure TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1.

Details

While working on https://github.com/dexidp/dex/issues/2848 and implementing configurable TLS support, I noticed my changes did not have any effect in TLS config, so I started investigating.

https://github.com/dexidp/dex/blob/70d7a2c7c1bb2646b1a540e49616cbc39622fb83/cmd/dex/serve.go#L425 is seemingly setting TLS 1.2 as minimum version, but the whole tlsConfig is ignored after "TLS cert reloader" was introduced in https://github.com/dexidp/dex/pull/2964. Configured cipher suites are not respected either, as seen on the output.

PoC

Build Dex, generate certs with gencert.sh, modify config.dev.yaml to run on https, using generated certs.

issuer: http://127.0.0.1:5556/dex

storage:
  type: sqlite3
  config:
    file: dex.db

web:
  https: 127.0.0.1:5556
  tlsCert: examples/k8s/ssl/cert.pem
  tlsKey: examples/k8s/ssl/key.pem

<rest as default>

Run dex bin/dex serve config.dev.yaml.

Install sslyze, easy to use SSL connection analyzer:

pip3 install sslyze
sslyze 127.0.0.1:5556

In Dex 2.37.0, TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are enabled in addition to expected TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3.

 * TLS 1.0 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 80 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 6 cipher suites:
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                      256                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                      128                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA                     168                      
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                256       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                128       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA               168       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)

     The group of cipher suites supported by the server has the following properties:
       Forward Secrecy                    OK - Supported
       Legacy RC4 Algorithm               OK - Not Supported


 * TLS 1.1 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 80 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 6 cipher suites:
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                      256                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                      128                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA                     168                      
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                256       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                128       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA               168       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)

     The group of cipher suites supported by the server has the following properties:
       Forward Secrecy                    OK - Supported
       Legacy RC4 Algorithm               OK - Not Supported


 * TLS 1.2 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 156 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 11 cipher suites:
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384                   256                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                      256                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256                   128                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                      128                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA                     168                      
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256       256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384             256       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA                256       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256             128       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA                128       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA               168       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)

     The group of cipher suites supported by the server has the following properties:
       Forward Secrecy                    OK - Supported
       Legacy RC4 Algorithm               OK - Not Supported


 * TLS 1.3 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 5 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 3 cipher suites:
        TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256                      256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)
        TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384                            256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)
        TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256                            128       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)

In Dex 2.36.0, TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are disabled as expected.

 * TLS 1.0 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 80 cipher suites; the server rejected all cipher suites.

 * TLS 1.1 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 80 cipher suites; the server rejected all cipher suites.

 * TLS 1.2 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 156 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 5 cipher suites:
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384                   256                      
        TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256                   128                      
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256       256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384             256       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)
        TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256             128       ECDH: prime256v1 (256 bits)

     The group of cipher suites supported by the server has the following properties:
       Forward Secrecy                    OK - Supported
       Legacy RC4 Algorithm               OK - Not Supported


 * TLS 1.3 Cipher Suites:
     Attempted to connect using 5 cipher suites.

     The server accepted the following 3 cipher suites:
        TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256                      256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)
        TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384                            256       ECDH: X25519 (253 bits)

Impact

TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 connections can be decrypted by the attacker, and hence decrypt the traffic to Dex.

CVE-2024-23656 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). The vector is network-reachable, 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 (2.38.0, 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

github.com/dexidp/dex (= 2.37.0) github.com/dexidp/dex (< 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254)

Security releases

github.com/dexidp/dex → 2.38.0 (go) github.com/dexidp/dex → 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254 (go)

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.

See it in your environment

Remediation advice

Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:

github.com/dexidp/dex to 2.38.0 or later; github.com/dexidp/dex to 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254 or later

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2024-23656? CVE-2024-23656 is a high-severity security vulnerability in github.com/dexidp/dex (go), affecting versions = 2.37.0. It is fixed in 2.38.0, 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254.
  2. How severe is CVE-2024-23656? CVE-2024-23656 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (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 github.com/dexidp/dex are affected by CVE-2024-23656? github.com/dexidp/dex (go) versions = 2.37.0 is affected.
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-23656? Yes. CVE-2024-23656 is fixed in 2.38.0, 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2024-23656 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-23656 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-2024-23656 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-2024-23656?
    • Upgrade github.com/dexidp/dex to 2.38.0 or later
    • Upgrade github.com/dexidp/dex to 0.0.0-20240125115555-5bbdb4420254 or later

Other vulnerabilities in github.com/dexidp/dex

CVE-2024-23656CVE-2022-39222CVE-2020-26290CVE-2020-27847

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