CVE-2023-20572
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 · uneditedAn observable timing discrepancy in the ASP could allow a privileged attacker to perform a brute-force attack against the hash message authentication code, allowing the input of an arbitrary message, potentially leading to a loss of data integrity.
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 · moderate confidenceA timing side-channel vulnerability in the authentication signature processing allows an attacker with existing privileges to exploit observable timing discrepancies during HMAC verification. This enables brute-force attacks to deduce valid authentication tokens, potentially allowing injection of arbitrary messages and compromising data integrity.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- High
- Authentication
- X
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/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
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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Identify if the product uses HMAC-based authenticationReview product documentation and search codebase for HMAC, hmac, signature verification, or authentication token processing functionsAffected if The product implements HMAC verification for authentication tokens or message signatures
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Determine the installed product versionCheck the product's version via command line (--version, -v), configuration file, or library manifestAffected if The version falls within any affected range provided by the vendor or is older than the latest stable release
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Locate the authentication signature processing moduleSearch for modules or components that handle signature verification, such as 'verify_signature', 'check_hmac', 'authenticate_token', or similar functionsAffected if A module performing HMAC verification is present and active in the deployment
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Inspect timing behavior during authenticationRun multiple authentication attempts and measure response times using tools like 'time', 'curl -w', or custom timing scripts to observe varianceAffected if Response times vary noticeably between correct and incorrect token values, indicating non-constant-time comparison
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Check cryptographic library or dependency versionsInspect included cryptographic libraries (OpenSSL, libsodium, etc.) and their versions via package manager or dependency manifestsAffected if The underlying crypto library is outdated or lacks constant-time comparison functions
The environment is affected if the product uses HMAC-based signature verification for authentication and exhibits timing variability during token validation, enabling brute-force attacks.
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 dataImplement constant-time comparison algorithms for HMAC verification and audit all cryptographic operations for timing leakages to prevent side-channel attacks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20572 — 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-2023-20572 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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