An issue was discovered in Progress DataDirect Connect for ODBC before 08.02.2770 for Oracle. When using Oracle Advanced Security (OAS) encryption, if an error is encountered initializing the encryption object used to encrypt data, the code falls back to a different encryption mechanism that uses an insecure random number generator to generate the private key. It is possible for a well-placed attacker to predict the output of this random number generator, which could lead to an attacker decrypting traffic between the driver and the database server. The vulnerability does not exist if SSL / TLS encryption is used.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datadirect_odbc_oracle_wire_protocol_driver | Progress | * | 08.02.2770 (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.