Summary
Discovery uses the same AES/GCM Nonce throughout the session
Discovery uses the same AES/GCM Nonce throughout the session though it should be generated on per message basis which can lead to the leaking of the session key. As the actual ENR record is signed with a different key it is not possible for an attacker to alter the ENR record. Note that the node private key is not compromised, only the session key generated to communicate with an individual peer.
From discovery spec:
The number of messages which can be encrypted with a certain session key is limited because encryption of each message requires a unique nonce for AES-GCM. In addition to the keys, the session cache must also keep track of the count of outgoing messages to ensure the uniqueness of nonce values. Since the wire protocol uses 96 bit AES-GCM nonces, it is strongly recommended to generate them by encoding the current outgoing message count into the first 32 bits of the nonce and filling the remaining 64 bits with random data generated by a cryptographically secure random number generator.
Impact
Security-sensitive operations rely on values that are predictable or insufficiently random. Typical impact: forged tokens, guessable identifiers, or broken cryptographic protocols.
Affected versions
Security releases
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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-23688? CVE-2024-23688 is a low-severity use of insufficiently random values vulnerability in tech.pegasys.discovery:discovery (maven), affecting versions < 0.4.5. It is fixed in 0.4.5. Security-sensitive operations rely on values that are predictable or insufficiently random.
- Which versions of tech.pegasys.discovery:discovery are affected by CVE-2024-23688? tech.pegasys.discovery:discovery (maven) versions < 0.4.5 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-23688? Yes. CVE-2024-23688 is fixed in 0.4.5. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-23688 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-23688 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-23688 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-23688? Upgrade
tech.pegasys.discovery:discoveryto 0.4.5 or later.