Summary
Timing Attack Vulnerability in SCRAM Authentication
Workarounds
Because the attack requires high precision and repeated attempts, the risk is limited, but the only reliable mitigation is to upgrade to a patched release (version 3.2 or later).
References
Impact
A timing attack vulnerability exists in the SCRAM Java implementation. The issue arises because Arrays.equals was used to compare secret values such as client proofs and server signatures. Since Arrays.equals performs a short-circuit comparison, the execution time varies depending on how many leading bytes match. This behavior could allow an attacker to perform a timing side-channel attack and potentially infer sensitive authentication material. All users relying on SCRAM authentication are impacted.
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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This vulnerability has been patched by replacing Arrays.equals with MessageDigest.isEqual, which ensures constant-time comparison.
Users should upgrade to version 3.2 or later to mitigate this issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-59432? CVE-2025-59432 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in com.ongres.scram:scram-common (maven), affecting versions < 3.2. It is fixed in 3.2.
- Which versions of com.ongres.scram:scram-common are affected by CVE-2025-59432? com.ongres.scram:scram-common (maven) versions < 3.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-59432? Yes. CVE-2025-59432 is fixed in 3.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-59432 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-59432 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-2025-59432 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-2025-59432? Upgrade
com.ongres.scram:scram-commonto 3.2 or later.