Nextcloud server is an open source home cloud implementation. In affected versions the generated fallback password when creating a share was using a weak complexity random number generator, so when the sharer did not change it the password could be guessable to an attacker willing to brute force it. It is recommended that the Nextcloud Server is upgraded to 24.0.10 or 25.0.4. This issue only affects users who do not have a password policy enabled, so enabling a password policy is an effective mitigation for users unable to upgrade.
The product uses a Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in a security context, but the PRNG’s algorithm is not cryptographically strong.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nextcloud_server | Nextcloud | 23.0.0 (including) | 23.0.14 (excluding) |
| Nextcloud_server | Nextcloud | 24.0.0 (including) | 24.0.10 (excluding) |
| Nextcloud_server | Nextcloud | 25.0.0 (including) | 25.0.4 (excluding) |
When a non-cryptographic PRNG is used in a cryptographic context, it can expose the cryptography to certain types of attacks. Often a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is not designed for cryptography. Sometimes a mediocre source of randomness is sufficient or preferable for algorithms that use random numbers. Weak generators generally take less processing power and/or do not use the precious, finite, entropy sources on a system. While such PRNGs might have very useful features, these same features could be used to break the cryptography.