Mbed TlsApplication · Trustedfirmware

CVE-2024-30166

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Mbed TLS 3.3.0 through 3.5.2 before 3.6.0, a malicious client can cause information disclosure or a denial of service because of a stack buffer over-read (of less than 256 bytes) in a TLS 1.3 server via a TLS 3.1 ClientHello.

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 confidence

A stack buffer over-read vulnerability exists in Mbed TLS versions 3.3.0 through 3.5.2 where a malicious TLS 1.3 server client can send a TLS 3.1 ClientHello message, causing the server to read up to 256 bytes beyond the intended buffer boundary on the stack, leading to potential information disclosure or denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade Mbed TLS library to version 3.6.0 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider filtering or rejecting TLS 3.1 ClientHello messages at the network boundary.

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
Mbed TlsApplication
Affected:>= 3.3.0, < 3.6.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Mbed TLS library version
    Check the version of the installed Mbed TLS library. Common methods: (1) Check mbedtls/version.h for MBEDTLS_VERSION_NUMBER macro, (2) Run 'grep -r "MBEDTLS_VERSION"' on include files, (3) Check packaging metadata if installed via package manager, (4) Query the library at runtime via mbedtls_version_get_number(). Compare the version number against the affected range: 3.3.0 <= version < 3.6.0.
    Affected if The installed Mbed TLS version is 3.3.0 through 3.5.2 (or any version < 3.6.0).
  2. Verify TLS 1.3 support is enabled
    Inspect the Mbed TLS configuration header (commonly mbedtls_config.h or the built configuration). Look for the preprocessor macro MBEDTLS_SSL_PROTO_TLS1_3 or check if TLS 1.3 cipher suites are defined. This can be done by searching the config file for 'TLS 1.3' or 'MBEDTLS_SSL_PROTO_TLS1_3' defined to 1.
    Affected if TLS 1.3 protocol support is compiled/enabled in the Mbed TLS build.
  3. Determine if the application acts as a TLS 1.3 server
    Review the application code or deployment configuration to determine if the system initializes an SSL context as a server (mbedtls_ssl_config_defaults called with MBEDTLS_SSL_IS_SERVER or listening on a port for TLS connections). Check if the application calls mbedtls_ssl_accept or uses the server-side SSL workflow.
    Affected if The system runs as a TLS 1.3 server (accepts incoming TLS connections).

You are affected if you run any Mbed TLS version between 3.3.0 and 3.5.2 (exclusive of 3.6.0), have TLS 1.3 support enabled, and your application functions as a TLS 1.3 server that can receive ClientHello messages from clients.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.6.0 or later
Fixed in 3.6.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Mbed TLS library to version 3.6.0 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider filtering or rejecting TLS 3.1 ClientHello messages at the network boundary.

Recommended fix High confidence

Mbed TLS 3.6.0

  1. 1. Identify all systems running Mbed TLS versions 3.3.0 through 3.5.2.
  2. 2. Review the Mbed TLS 3.6.0 release notes for any compatibility concerns with your implementation.
  3. 3. Update Mbed TLS to version 3.6.0 or later in all affected environments.
  4. 4. Verify the update was successful by checking the library version.
  5. 5. Test TLS 1.3 server functionality to ensure normal operation after the update.
Caveat Review Mbed TLS 3.6.0 release notes for potential breaking changes in your specific use case

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mbed Tls Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-30166 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data