Functions SDK for EdgeX is meant to provide all the plumbing necessary for developers to get started in processing/transforming/exporting data out of the EdgeX IoT platform. In affected versions broken encryption in app-functions-sdk “AES” transform in EdgeX Foundry releases prior to Jakarta allows attackers to decrypt messages via unspecified vectors. The app-functions-sdk exports an “aes” transform that user scripts can optionally call to encrypt data in the processing pipeline. No decrypt function is provided. Encryption is not enabled by default, but if used, the level of protection may be less than the user may expects due to a broken implementation. Version v2.1.0 (EdgeX Foundry Jakarta release and later) of app-functions-sdk-go/v2 deprecates the “aes” transform and provides an improved “aes256” transform in its place. The broken implementation will remain in a deprecated state until it is removed in the next EdgeX major release to avoid breakage of existing software that depends on the broken implementation. As the broken transform is a library function that is not invoked by default, users who do not use the AES transform in their processing pipelines are unaffected. Those that are affected are urged to upgrade to the Jakarta EdgeX release and modify processing pipelines to use the new aes256 transform.
The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| App_service_configurable | Edgexfoundry | * | 2.1.0 (excluding) |
| Application_functions_software_development_kit | Edgexfoundry | * | 2.1.0 (excluding) |
| Edgex_foundry | Edgexfoundry | * | 2.1.0 (excluding) |
Cryptographic algorithms are the methods by which data is scrambled to prevent observation or influence by unauthorized actors. Insecure cryptography can be exploited to expose sensitive information, modify data in unexpected ways, spoof identities of other users or devices, or other impacts. It is very difficult to produce a secure algorithm, and even high-profile algorithms by accomplished cryptographic experts have been broken. Well-known techniques exist to break or weaken various kinds of cryptography. Accordingly, there are a small number of well-understood and heavily studied algorithms that should be used by most products. Using a non-standard or known-insecure algorithm is dangerous because a determined adversary may be able to break the algorithm and compromise whatever data has been protected. Since the state of cryptography advances so rapidly, it is common for an algorithm to be considered “unsafe” even if it was once thought to be strong. This can happen when new attacks are discovered, or if computing power increases so much that the cryptographic algorithm no longer provides the amount of protection that was originally thought. For a number of reasons, this weakness is even more challenging to manage with hardware deployment of cryptographic algorithms as opposed to software implementation. First, if a flaw is discovered with hardware-implemented cryptography, the flaw cannot be fixed in most cases without a recall of the product, because hardware is not easily replaceable like software. Second, because the hardware product is expected to work for years, the adversary’s computing power will only increase over time.