CVE-2019-3731
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedRSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition versions prior to 4.1.4 and RSA Micro Edition Suite versions prior to 4.4 are vulnerable to an Information Exposure Through Timing Discrepancy. A malicious remote user could potentially exploit this vulnerability to extract information leaving data at risk of exposure.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceRSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition and RSA Micro Edition Suite contain a timing side-channel vulnerability where cryptographic operations take measurably different amounts of time depending on the data being processed (likely key material or plaintext). An attacker can exploit these timing discrepancies to extract sensitive information such as cryptographic keys through statistical analysis of operation times.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 4.1.4>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.13>= 4.1.0, < 4.4.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate RSA BSAFE library filesSearch the system for files named 'libbsafe', 'bsafe', or 'RSA_BSAFE' with extensions such as .so, .a, .dll, or .lib. Check common library directories like /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib, or Windows System32, as well as application-specific directories.Affected if RSA BSAFE library files are present on the system
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Identify the BSAFE product variantExamine any found BSAFE libraries for product identification strings, headers, or documentation. Determine whether the installed product is 'BSAFA Crypto-C Micro Edition' or 'BSAFA Micro Edition Suite'.Affected if The product cannot be identified as a non-vulnerable variant
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Determine the installed versionCheck library version metadata (file properties, version info embedded in the binary, or accompanying version files). Compare the found version against the affected ranges: Crypto-C ME < 4.1.4, or Micro Edition Suite 4.0.0-4.0.12 or 4.1.0-4.3.x.Affected if The version falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: Crypto-C ME < 4.1.4, Micro Edition Suite < 4.0.13, or Micro Edition Suite < 4.4.0 (for 4.1.x branch)
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Verify cryptographic operations are in useReview application logs, code, or configuration to confirm that cryptographic functions from the BSAFE library are being invoked. This includes key generation, encryption, decryption, or digital signing operations.Affected if Cryptographic operations using the vulnerable BSAFE library are being performed
A system is affected if it contains RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition versions prior to 4.1.4 or RSA Micro Edition Suite versions prior to 4.0.13 or 4.4.0, and actively performs cryptographic operations using that library.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data4.0.134.1.44.4.0
Upgrade RSA BSAFE Crypto-C Micro Edition to version 4.1.4 or later, and RSA Micro Edition Suite to version 4.4 or later, to incorporate timing-invariant cryptographic implementations.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-3731 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-3731 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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