The Linux kernel through 5.7.11 allows remote attackers to make observations that help to obtain sensitive information about the internal state of the network RNG, aka CID-f227e3ec3b5c. This is related to drivers/char/random.c and kernel/time/timer.c.
Weakness
The product uses insufficiently random numbers or values in a security context that depends on unpredictable numbers.
Affected Software
| Name |
Vendor |
Start Version |
End Version |
| Linux_kernel |
Linux |
* |
5.7.11 (including) |
Potential Mitigations
- Use a well-vetted algorithm that is currently considered to be strong by experts in the field, and select well-tested implementations with adequate length seeds.
- In general, if a pseudo-random number generator is not advertised as being cryptographically secure, then it is probably a statistical PRNG and should not be used in security-sensitive contexts.
- Pseudo-random number generators can produce predictable numbers if the generator is known and the seed can be guessed. A 256-bit seed is a good starting point for producing a “random enough” number.
References