What is CVE-2024-58262?

CVE-2024-58262 is a low-severity security vulnerability in curve25519-dalek (rust), affecting versions < 4.1.3. It is fixed in 4.1.3.

How severe is CVE-2024-58262?

CVE-2024-58262 has a CVSS score of 2.9 (Low). 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.

Which versions of curve25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2024-58262?

curve25519-dalek (rust) versions < 4.1.3 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2024-58262?

Yes. CVE-2024-58262 is fixed in 4.1.3. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2024-58262 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2024-58262 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.

What actually determines whether CVE-2024-58262 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.

CVE-2024-58262 in curve25519-dalek

Q: How severe is CVE-2024-58262?

CVE-2024-58262 has a CVSS score of 2.9 (Low). 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.

Q: Which versions of curve25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2024-58262?

curve25519-dalek (rust) versions < 4.1.3 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2024-58262?

Yes. CVE-2024-58262 is fixed in 4.1.3. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2024-58262 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2024-58262 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.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2024-58262 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.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2024-58262?

Upgrade curve25519-dalek to 4.1.3 or later.

Summary

curve25519-dalek has timing variability in curve25519-dalek's Scalar29::sub/Scalar52::sub

Timing variability of any kind is problematic when working with potentially secret values such as elliptic curve scalars, and such issues can potentially leak private keys and other secrets. Such a problem was recently discovered in curve25519-dalek.

The Scalar29::sub (32-bit) and Scalar52::sub (64-bit) functions contained usage of a mask value inside a loop where LLVM saw an opportunity to insert a branch instruction (jns on x86) to conditionally bypass this code section when the mask value is set to zero as can be seen in godbolt:

32-bit (see L106): https://godbolt.org/z/zvaWxzvqv
64-bit (see L48): https://godbolt.org/z/PczYj7Pda

A similar problem was recently discovered in the Kyber reference implementation:

https://groups.google.com/a/list.nist.gov/g/pqc-forum/c/hqbtIGFKIpU/m/cnE3pbueBgAJ

As discussed on that thread, one portable solution, which is also used in this PR, is to introduce a volatile read as an optimization barrier, which prevents the compiler from optimizing it away.

The fix can be validated in godbolt here:

32-bit: https://godbolt.org/z/jc9j7eb8E
64-bit: https://godbolt.org/z/x8d46Yfah

The problem was discovered and the solution independently verified by Alexander Wagner [email protected] and Lea Themint [email protected] using their DATA tool:

https://github.com/Fraunhofer-AISEC/DATA

Impact

CVE-2024-58262 has a CVSS score of 2.9 (Low). The vector is requires local access, 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 (4.1.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

curve25519-dalek (< 4.1.3)

Security releases

curve25519-dalek → 4.1.3 (rust)

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

Upgrade curve25519-dalek to 4.1.3 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-58262? CVE-2024-58262 is a low-severity security vulnerability in curve25519-dalek (rust), affecting versions < 4.1.3. It is fixed in 4.1.3.
How severe is CVE-2024-58262? CVE-2024-58262 has a CVSS score of 2.9 (Low). 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.
Which versions of curve25519-dalek are affected by CVE-2024-58262? curve25519-dalek (rust) versions < 4.1.3 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2024-58262? Yes. CVE-2024-58262 is fixed in 4.1.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2024-58262 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-58262 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-2024-58262 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-2024-58262? Upgrade curve25519-dalek to 4.1.3 or later.