ML-KEM-1024 x64 AVX2 incomplete cipher text comparison enables IND-CCA2 break and static private-key recovery (wolfSSL wolfSSL)
At a glance
- Source
- NVD
- EPSS
- EPSS 0.26 % · percentile 18 ()
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Published
- Updated
- Assigner
- wolfSSL
- NVD status
- Modified
Description
wolfSSL's AVX2-optimized ML-KEM implementation (mlkem_cmp_avx2) compares only 1536 of the 1568 ciphertext bytes during the Fujisaki-Okamoto re-encryption check in ML-KEM-1024 decapsulation. Ciphertexts that differ from the expected re-encryption solely in bytes 1536-1567 bypass implicit rejection and are accepted as valid, breaking IND-CCA2 security. An attacker able to submit chosen ciphertexts to a decapsulation oracle that uses a static ML-KEM-1024 key, and to observe whether the genuine shared secret or the implicit-rejection secret was produced, can use this as a plaintext-checking oracle to recover the private key. A proof of concept recovered a full ML-KEM-1024 private key with approximately 98% success using roughly 350 chosen ciphertexts. The flaw is a deterministic logic error and does not rely on timing measurements.
Weaknesses (CWE)
- CWE-697 — Incorrect Comparison
References
Scores
| Version | Score | Vector | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH 8.3 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N | wolfSSL |
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH 8.3 | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X | NVD · facts@wolfssl.com (Secondary) |
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH 7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N | NVD · nvd@nist.gov (Primary) |
European references
- ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-39553
- GCVE · GCVE-0-2026-10097
Affected configurations (NVD CPE)
cpe:2.3:a:wolfssl:wolfssl:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*≥ 5.7.0 < 5.9.2
Affected products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| wolfSSL · wolfSSL | affected 5.7.0 ≤ 5.9.1 |
Sources
| Source | Licence |
|---|---|
| CVE List (CVEProject cvelistV5) | CVE Program Terms of Use |
| EPSS (FIRST.org) | FIRST — attribution requested |
| ENISA EUVD | ENISA — reproduction authorised, source acknowledged |
| NVD (NIST) via fkie-cad/nvd-json-data-feeds | Public domain — this product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD |